


Send Your Armies

by raptormoon



Series: Hope is a Cheap Thing [3]
Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Backstory, Gen, Other, exploring philosophical issues, it's all fun and games until someone loses a leg, this is gonna get sad, warfare, what makes a monster?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-02-27 10:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13246764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptormoon/pseuds/raptormoon
Summary: Long ago, things were different.Long ago, they were partners.Long ago, there was trust.You'd think that one little lie wouldn't be enough to break it.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A belated note!
> 
> Please go read [It's All Fun and Games](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11531298) before starting on this. [Sugar Hunt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12573376) wouldn't hurt, either. They're pretty short reads, I promise! (Not like this monster is gonna be)

When Maui returned, his home was in ruins.

Heart in his throat, he approached his little hut, hoping for some sign of life inside, or some sign that his family had escaped, or…  _ something. _

But there was nothing but scattered wreckage and spattered blood.

He pushed the debris aside anyway, heaving beams and posts aside, throwing mats behind him… nothing.

“No… oh, oh no.” He fell to his knees, magic fishhook barely holding him upright. Grief struck him hard in the chest; he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t….

He couldn’t.

Maui couldn’t for a long time.

~~~~

At some point, Maui was able to stand again. He trekked back to the village, some deep-buried instinct guiding him there, either some need to help, or some need to be helped, he wasn’t sure. Wasn’t thinking about it.

His wasn’t the only home, the only family, that had suffered. There were no buildings left standing in the village. Food stores had been raided and swept clean. Many people were missing. As he listened to what the surviving villagers had to say, he gathered that they had been attacked by a monster. A giant thing surely from the depths of Lalotai, come to wreak havoc among the mortals. A curse, a blight, upon the world of men.

He learned that if he had returned merely a day sooner, he would have been there to fight back.

Somewhere, deep inside, a spark of anger lit. The more he listened to grieving mothers, heartbroken widowers, crying children, the more that spark grew into a roaring flame.

“Everyone!” he shouted. “We must grieve, there is no denying that. But neither should we forgive the monster that did this!” He brandished his fishhook. “I will travel to Lalotai and avenge our families!”

He was expecting cheers. He didn’t get any. The sorrow was still too fresh.

His anger continued to boil inside him, fed, rather than dampened, by the lack of reaction of the villagers. He stormed away, to the shore, and transformed into a giant hawk. He took flight and pointed himself toward the nearest entrance to Lalotai.

~~~~

There were tracks in the sand, limned red from the glowing corals nearby. They looked like drops of freshly spilled blood, and the sight renewed the fury deep inside him. He followed the tracks into a strange forest, past strange monoliths, and into a wide canyon. He had seen signs of life along this trail, smaller monsters and carnivorous plants rooted to the ground. Nothing that could have caused the scale of destruction back home. He ignored them, and was ignored in turn.

He was rounding a curve when something unusual caught his eye. Fruit, from the human world, lying on the ground as though dropped. Fruit like what had been raided from the stores. He marched further, and saw mats and tattered baskets, in a pile as though dumped. Further, and he stopped.

For there was the monster.

Maui had approached quietly, certain he could not be heard, but he saw long antennae twitch a second before the large, many-limbed body turned. Eyes as large as his body glared at him, enormous pincers clicked in warning, and the monster crab lowered itself into a battle stance.

“You!” Maui growled, pointing his hook at the creature. “You raided my village, destroyed my home, killed my family!” His voice shook, but his arm held firm.

The monster made no response.

“Why?! Answer me!” Tears began to fall, but he paid them no mind.

The only sound was another pincer snap.

It was as though a string holding closed a basket had been cut. In that moment, all of Maui’s fury, all of his grief and self-recrimination came pouring out, and he charged the monster head on. The monster charged as well, and hook met claw in a clash.

~~~~

The feeling of victory was short lived.

Maui had slain the monster, yes, after a long and bloody fight. He had not come out unharmed. The area had been wrecked from blows not hitting their target, or bodies crashing into the sand or canyon walls. On some level, Maui was glad to see his destroyed village mirrored here.

Mostly, he was wishing this fight could have brought his wife and children back.

He stood there, numb, for a length of time he couldn’t begin to guess at. He stood there, shaking, bleeding, crying, until he heard a new sound.

Instincts urged him to spin quickly and brandish his hook again in threat, but he could only turn his head and blink, stupefied, as another monster walked into the area.

It was another crab. But small; so small he could hold it in one hand.

The small monster froze when it saw him, eyes going wide in fear.

Unbidden, the thought of his children staring up at a looming monster came to him.

Its eyes shifted to glance behind him, at the bulk of the body Maui had just killed.

_ “You know, I love babies,” _ his wife had said to him, long ago.  _ “So small and sweet!” _

The small - now that he was looking, obviously very young - crab looked back at him, then began to step away.

_ “So innocent!” _

Maui wondered, who is the monster here?

_ “Maybe we should be making one, then.” _

“Hey, little guy,” he called out, unthinking. “Please, don’t be afraid. I’m not here to hurt you.”

The crab did not stop backing away.

_ “Oh? And raise our own little hero?” _

“Please,” Maui tried again. “Your, uh…. I’m going to take care of you now.”

The crab did, finally, stop, though the fear did not leave its eyes.

_ “Why stop at one?” _

“I know this is a lot to take in at once, but… I’m taking care of you now that your… uh, parent? Now that they can’t. Please, come here. I’ll take you to the surface with me.”

“Up?” the crab asked, and finally the fear seemed to have shifted away. Not gone, but not in front.

“Yeah. Up. I’ll take you up with me. Okay?”

The crab looked back to the slain adult behind Maui again. Its gaze lingered. Maui could not begin to guess at the thoughts or emotions going through that mind as he watched. Finally, the young crab looked back to Maui, and started walking toward him again.

“Up.”


	2. 1: Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Going Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here, this is where it begins.

As their canoe cut through the water, Maui continued his gloat.

“This is gonna be so great! Nice long days now, you know? More time to get things done.” Maui sat at the rudder, keeping a tight grip on the sheet as the wind buffeted back and forth.

“Just means days are gonna get hotter, man,” Tamatoa groused, but he wasn’t really all that annoyed with the longer days. He _was_ annoyed with Maui’s bright idea that involved scorching his pincers. The injury was mild, but still. It was the principle of the matter.

“More time for sailing-”

“You sail at night all the time, dude.”

“More time for fishing-”

“I do all the fishing and I can fish at night just fine.”

“More time for working…. What, not butting in?”

Tamatoa flicked an antenna at him. “No way, if you wanna spend all your time working, be my guest.”

Maui laughed, his good cheer unflagging. “Well, I didn’t do it for either of us, anyway. The humans are gonna go nuts for it, though!”

Tamatoa waved his claw placatingly. “Yeah, yeah; sure, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself, man.”

“It means they’ll be able to make the eel stuff you like in one day, instead of two.”

Tamatoa could hear the smirk and the tease in Maui’s tone. But at the thought of his favorite food his mouth began to water, and the thought of maybe getting it _every night_ steered him into a better mood.

“Well, sure, but they only make it right back home,” he said. Guess he couldn’t leave it completely alone.

He didn’t miss Maui giving him a knowing look. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were missing the village.”

“You put the idea in my head, man.” He shrugged. “All that time for cooking, but you’re rubbish at it and I don’t have the appendages.” He clicked a singed pincer twice in emphasis.

Maui stuck his tongue out at him. “I can cook just fine, thank you. I invented cooking!”

“Bringing fire up here from the underworld, then throwing a whole boar into it, does not constitute cooking nor does it prove any culinary prowess.” Tamatoa rolled his eyes. Really, he had to call Maui out on that _every single time_.

Maui glared at him, and tugged the sheet slightly. The canoe dipped and a spray of water splashed Tamatoa across the face.

“Hey!” he shouted.

“Oh, sorry, I just remembered what you said about the longer days getting hotter, thought you could use a cool down.”

“You dirty little-” He stood up then and turned to face Maui fully, at least a head taller than the demigod now and claws clacking in anger, but as he did so his weight unbalanced the boat and they rocked.

“No rough-housing on the canoe!” Maui reminded him, far too glib to be seriously concerned.

Even so, Tamatoa did settle back down, glaring at his friend directly now. The canoe really wasn’t big enough for a brawl, even he could acknowledge that. “Fine. I’ll beat that smirk off your face when we land. For now,” and he gave a smirk of his own, “why not a game of mengamenga to pass the time?”  

That glib expression on Maui’s face fell quickly into a scowl.

~~~

True to his word, Tamatoa barely let Maui finish securing the canoe before he stuck out a leg and tripped the demigod. The resulting yelp was priceless.

“Tamatoa!” Maui griped, trying to shake the sand out of his hair. “What was that for?”

“Check your memory, man,” he replied. He studied one of his pincers, nonchalant.

Maui blinked, then looked up as he thought back. As the memory returned to him, he rolled his eyes. “Really? That was a week ago. You can’t just let it go?”

“Since when have I ever let anything go?” He quirked one eye back to look at Maui inquisitively.

Maui scowled. “You’re right; I should’ve known better.” He stood back up and cocked an eyebrow at Tamatoa. “Well, you’ve got my attention, Crabcake. Bring it!”

Tamatoa grinned, eyes crinkling in anticipation, and brought it. Without waiting for any “go” signal, he darted forward and swept a pincer low, aiming for Maui’s feet. The demigod jumped, his powerful legs propelling him into a flip over Tamatoa’s shell. He spun, other pincer flying up to grab at Maui in the air, but he was a fraction of a second too slow. He finished his spin as Maui landed, and they charged at each other. Maui brought his arms forward to shield his face as Tamatoa swept a claw down for a blow, catching the heavy pincer before pushing back and sending that claw swinging into the air. Maui rushed in and slid underneath Tamatoa, skidding in the sand. Tamatoa bent his eyes down to follow the demigod’s path, saw as Maui hit an unseen rock and floundered. An unexpected thrill of excitement shot through his veins, seeing his foe powerless beneath him. He shifted his weight and brought a leg sideways, kicking Maui in the ribs.

“Oof! Oh, you’re asking for it now-”

Maui planted his feet in a crouch, then shot up, his hands over his head, and shoved Tamatoa over sideways. It would have been enough to flip him over, too, had Tamatoa not dug one pincer into the sand and threw the other out as counterbalance. He ended up spinning into a crash on his side, legs crumpled beneath him. An angry growl rumbled out.

“Low blow, man,” he hissed, pulling himself back up.

Maui threw a cocksure grin his way. “Oh? You scared? Don’t you like it when I give you belly rubs?”

Anger flared up, and Tamatoa barely restrained himself from rushing forward in blind rage. Instead he stepped calmly forward, two paces, three. “About as much as you like it when someone kicks you between the legs.”

Maui snorted. “Pff, as if that-”

But the distraction was complete. Tamatoa’s antenna, thin and hard to see with the bright sunlight behind him, reached over and tapped Maui on the shoulder.

“- even.. huh?” and Maui turned, confused and surprised, to find nothing behind him. Tamatoa took the opportunity to dart forward, claws open and aiming for Maui’s head. The demigod caught on and grabbed wildly for the antenna, but it was too little too late. Tamatoa yelped through the tug on his sensitive appendage as he barreled into Maui, pincers snapping closed on curly black locks as the two tumbled heads over heels into an awkward splay in the sand.

“Ow, hey! HEY! No hair-pulling!” Maui roared, hands flying up to try to protect his precious tresses.

“Says the guy who yanked my antenna!” Tamatoa shouted back, not letting up his grip as he struggled to gain some distance.

“You shouldn’t have put it there! Ouch! Let go already!”

“Not until you yield!”

“That’s a dirty- owowow! Fine, Fishbreath, I yield!”

Tamatoa let go and got to his feet. He stepped back, turning his eyes to check his antenna, raising one claw to gingerly poke at the base. Maui was beside him fussing over his hair, but it’s not like hair could feel anything. His poor antenna, though, had a bit of an ache running through it; Maui never gave him a chance to forget how strong he was, no matter how much he looked like a human.

“I’m sorry, Tamatoa,” Maui said, pulling his attention away. “You okay, buddy?”

He poked at it again, but nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Tougher than I look, you know. How’s your hair?”

“Still soft and silky. No harm done.” He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking proudly.

Some days, a pose and expression like that would irritate Tamatoa to no end. Other days, like today, he ignored it. He had beaten the smug grin off of Maui’s face, as promised, and saw no need to continue battering away at each other when he was getting hungry. So, instead of responding, he began walking back to the edge of the water.

“I’m hungry. What do you want to eat?”

“Want me to try making that eel stuff?”

Tamatoa actually stopped and turned his head to glare at Maui. “Don’t even joke about it, man. You’d just ruin it.”

“Pff! I could do better than you!” Still, he walked up to join Tamatoa in wading into the water.

“I don’t pretend to be able to make it in the first place! Now, if we go back to the village, Poto’s granddaughter makes it just like Kaona did, and you can take lessons from her.” He turned his eyes back to the water and started searching.

Maui laughed. “Oh, I can, can I? Would you actually taste anything I make to compare?”

Tamatoa paused, imagining that. “No, I probably wouldn’t. I would just have Maeka make extra and share it with you.”

“That’s asking a lot of her.”

“Yeah, but she loves me.” He cast Maui a self-satisfied smile. “Now, climb up or get out of the water, you’re scaring everything off.”

Chuckling, Maui obliged, climbing atop Tamatoa’s shell to be out of the way while he fished.

They were both silent for a long while, Tamatoa standing stock still and Maui nearly as unmoving up on his back. Once Tamatoa had grown large enough, he found it to be rather enjoyable carting his friend around in much the same way Maui had carried him when he was small. It was comfortably close, and they could literally go everywhere together. It spoke to the strength of their bond, baiting and fighting aside.

Eventually the fish wandered back. First the little minnows and tiny shrimp, things he didn’t bother with anymore. Eventually fish large enough to catch moved in, but still he waited. Finally, a school of something bigger swam into the area; quickly, he dove both claws into the water, and brought them up with a splash. He held two fish in each claw - a decent start! He twisted and threw them back up to the shore, then turned back to the water and continued to wait.

~~~

Maui preferred his fish cooked, even if it was just the basic method of skewering it on a stick and sticking that in the fire, so eventually he had Tamatoa throw him back to shore, as well. When Tamatoa was satisfied with the number of things he’d caught - including an octopus for dessert! - he turned and walked back to join the demigod. The light was starting to fade (days really were longer now, he’d half expected the sun not to listen) and it created a beautiful backdrop over the rise of the island.

When they were done eating, Tamatoa spoke up. “You know, we’ve been talking about it enough, lately. I think it’s time to head back to the village.”

Maui took a swig from his coconut, then nodded. “I figured you’d be saying that pretty soon.”

“That doesn’t really sound like agreement, man.” He gave Maui a flat look. “Aren’t you missing it yet?”

The demigod chuckled with a shrug. “How about five more adventures first?”

Tamatoa narrowed his eyes. Bartering, eh? “Two.”

“Four.” Maui’s white teeth glinted with the last light of dusk as he smiled.

Not about to be charmed, Tamatoa countered, “Three. And even then we start heading back that direction.”

Maui rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. It’s a deal.Three more adventures heading west, then we make straight for home.”

“Agreed!” Tamatoa smiled.

~~~

When the island finally came into sight again, Tamatoa smiled to himself. Maui had been reluctant to give up adventuring even after the agreed-upon three new quests, and while Tamatoa would stick by Maui’s side regardless of their ultimate destination, he had still employed every trick he knew from his younger days to wheedle the demigod into returning.

Maui had not been very forthcoming with reasons, either, when Tamatoa asked.

“It just doesn’t feel like it’s been all that long since last time we were there,” he’d finally relented, shaking his hair back behind his shoulders.

Tamatoa had side-eyed him. “Well, if time flies when you’re having fun, you must’ve been having quite the ball. It’s been nearly twenty years, man.”

Seemingly surprised, Maui had finally relented, and now there was nothing in their way.

~~~

The day was another beautiful one, the sun high and blocked by only a few puffy clouds, the ocean a sparkling crystal blue, the green, mountainous island growing larger on the horizon. Even before touching shore, the feelings of _home_ and _belonging_ filled him. Every single time they came back, Kaona’s words from long ago resonated within him: _You are ours, Tamatoa, just as we are yours._ And while he would always choose Maui first, always be loyal to the demigod who had raised him, there was no denying the connection he felt to the people of this particular island.

They came ashore amidst much fanfare, the mortals happy to see them. There were many, many young faces that Tamatoa did not recognize, faces that were exuberant and welcoming but lacking an old familiar friendliness. He glanced back at Maui, saw his own thoughts reflected on the demigod’s face. They had been away too long.

But when he looked ahead again, he saw a small cluster of people slowly making their way down, a small, thin figure supported in the middle. He looked closer, and his sharp vision picked out a few details that were unmistakable. Delight lit up in his mind.

“Poto!” he called, and hurried up the beach to meet his long-time friend.

“That’s Poto-Matua to you now, Tamatoa!” The voice that called back was still hale and vibrant, inconsistent with the body it arose from. And it was that discrepancy, hitting home right as they met and Poto slapped a hand onto Tamatoa’s claw in welcome, that made Tamatoa realize-

“Man, you’ve gotten _old._ ”

Poto laughed, but leaned into the woman holding his arm. Tamatoa looked at her, and realized with a start that is was Maeka, Poto’s granddaughter, smiling widely at him.

“True, my body isn’t what it once was, but I’ll bet I can still match you at rakau!” He puffed his chest up proudly.

Tamatoa laughed, then swept a claw out as he bowed. “Undoubtedly you would beat me, Poto- _Matua._ I haven’t played catch with twigs since the last time I was here.” He winked.

The whole group laughed then, and even though everyone had changed and there was so much to catch up on, Tamatoa was so glad to be home.  

~~~

“So Maui, Tamatoa!” called one of the village women. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about why the days have gotten longer, would you?”

Maui grinned widely. “Well, as it so happens…!”

As the demigod launched into the story, Tamatoa sat back, relaxed and only half-listening. A feast had been held in their honor, and in celebration of their return. Everyone came, from the oldest wise-woman with whom Tamatoa had played when she was a child, to the newest small infants cuddled up against their parents. He took in all of the faces, staring raptly at Maui as he relayed their adventures. These were _his_ humans. His people. Never mind that he wasn’t their species, nor even mortal like them; he had been adopted by one family and accepted by the rest.

This was home.

Maui was attempting to downplay Tamatoa’s role in slowing down the sun, however. That wouldn’t do. If anything, his role should be exaggerated! He had done all of the hard work; _he_ was the hero here!

“Hey, now!” he interrupted, breaking the tension just as Maui was getting to the good part. “You can’t be hogging all the glory, man. Who was it who made the rope from blessed kelp?”

“Er, well-” Maui began to stammer.

“And who caught the bait to lure the sun closer?” he asked, quirking one eye higher than the other.

“I think everyone assumed that-”

“And, when the sun starting pulling you right along with it, who grabbed your foot to keep you from flying off into space?” Tamatoa pointedly shoved his own leg-tip into Maui’s ankle.

“I haven’t even gotten to that part! Don’t spoil the story!” If Tamatoa had to pick a word for Maui’s tone of voice, it would be “whining.”

“Hmmph! _You’re_ spoiling it by leaving me out of it! Everything is better with _moi_.” He straightened up regally, brought one claw up to his chest to help illustrate his own importance. Then he glared from this new, intimidating height. “So _stop that!”_

Maui laughed. “Right right, sorry, sorry. Won’t happen again! So, as Crabcake over there was saying, I had just lassoed the sun when-”

Appeased, Tamatoa let himself relax again, and listened to the story in earnest, only speaking up again when the narrative needed more embellishment - which, to be fair, was quite often. Maui was a rather lackluster storyteller, even after all this time.

~~~

The evening had been a long one. Maui trudged slowly to the old, familiar guest fale. Tamatoa was out in the night, reacquainting himself with both the island and the people who lived here.

The giant crab loved it here, where he had always been unconditionally accepted. Maui smiled softly to himself, and sent a silent thanks to Teura for building this wonderful community.

But, of course, the thought of _her_ was what always made homecoming so hard. Teura had been born here; this was _her_ home, _her_ people. A few descendants of her sisters still lived here, while others had sailed on to new horizons. But Teura herself, their boys, their little girl….

Once upon a time, Maui would have choked at their memories. Now he could think of them all with a sad fondness, and as he entered the fale and picked up the mats to give them a shaking, Maui remembered doing the same with his wife, so long ago. Remembered trying (and failing) to teach his boys how to fish. Remembered braiding his little girl’s hair. Sleeping on those mats, all three children piled atop him, Teura beside him with her head resting against his shoulder.

Warmth, and joy. Despite the tragedy, those were the predominant memories Maui had of this island.

But they were only memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!! Many thanks to JadeWolf and TheFredricus for their wonderful work in betaing and proofreading and hand-holding!
> 
> I aim to be updating this story every-other Tamatoa Tuesday. It's all planned out, and I have great enablers!
> 
> See you in two weeks!


	3. 2: The Whispers of Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2: The Whispers of Strangers

The day had been long and hot, and while Tamatoa normally withered under such conditions, this afternoon found him lounging in the shade of the coconut grove, chatting and joking with several younger villagers. There had been a game made of harvesting several baskets-full of coconuts, and of course he had been the best at climbing the trees and snipping the coconuts free, but the kids hadn’t been half-bad, either. Now they sat together chatting and enjoying the fruits of their labor. The young mortals were fascinated with him, really - not that he could blame them, he was pretty amazing - and they asked him all sorts of questions about his exploits. He happily answered, going into great detail as he related his many adventures with Maui by his side.

Until they started doubting him. Then he became less than happy.

“What do you mean, you brought up fire? The volcanoes are full of fire, did you build them too?”

“That’s not how it works,” Tamatoa said dismissively, hiding his rising ire. “Lava and fire are _not_ the same thing, and until we brought fire up from the underworld, you humans couldn’t use it at all!”

“That doesn’t make sense, Tamatoa,” one particularly bothersome girl spoke up. “If the lava is hot enough to catch branches on fire, then why couldn’t we have just stuck a stick in until it caught fire?”

He swivelled around to look at her, astonished and dismayed that she would so _mistakingly_ call him out like that. “But it _wouldn’t_ have caught fire, because-”

Then the smartass kid from earlier _actually interrupted him._ “But then how does you and Maui bringing fire back change the heat properties of lava?”

“ _Magic!”_ Tamatoa insisted, forcefully. “Fire is magic and we brought that magic to you. Okay?!”

The kids all looked skeptical, but didn’t say anything more. Tamatoa nodded to himself, pleased to once more have an attentive audience.

“Right! So, as I was saying-”

“ _Ahem,”_ a voice interrupted from ahead.

Aggrieved, Tamatoa looked back around to see who it had been this time, only to find one of the village elders standing before the group. His eyes widened and antennae twitched up in surprise - he hadn’t noticed the older human approaching, so engrossed with relating his heroic exploits as he’d been.

The crab took a good look at the man standing there. He had severe lines around his face, and it didn’t look like he’d _ever_ smiled. And he certainly didn’t look happy now. Surreptitiously, Tamatoa covered the coconut he’d been snacking on with one of his pincers. Around him, the young humans had gone frightfully quiet.

The man sized them all up with a discerning eye, but his gaze came to a rest on Tamatoa before he resumed speaking.

“Tamatoa,” he spoke without any preamble. “Your presence is requested by the council. Follow me.” He then turned and left, surprisingly quickly for his trudging gait.

Tamatoa, for his part, just stared uncomprehendingly at the elder - Council? Say what now? - until he felt an elbow from one of the youngsters nudging into his shell. He swivelled one eye to look.

“You’d better _go!”_ the young boy whispered at him, urgently. “Elder Mako always means _serious business!_ ”

The girl who had interrupted him similarly pushed at him from the other side. He turned the other eye to look at her. “And he doesn’t like to be kept waiting! _Go,_ Tamatoa!”

“I, uh-” he muttered, grasping for something intelligent to say. The urgency of the children around him had Tamatoa unsettled. He stood quickly, as the kids continued to whisper fearfully, and shoved the hidden coconut quickly into his mouth, chewing fast as he hurried to catch up to the elder.

It was kind of funny, he thought as he drew up abreast of the man, how he could be so much taller than any mortal he’d ever met and yet _still_ be so intimidated by some of them. Especially the old ones. Even though he was much _much_ older than any mortal, too.

“So, uh, Elder Mako,” he began, deferentially. “Mind letting me in on what’s going on?”

“Hmmph!” the man grunted in return, and the expression he cast at Tamatoa just then was enough to curdle coconut milk. “You’ll find out soon enough!”

The heat behind that gaze sent Tamatoa back a step or two, meekly and quietly following the elder as he led the way back to the village. Elder Mako continued grumbling to himself as they walked. Humans always underestimated how well Tamatoa could hear, and so he could hear the elder just fine now. But the muttering was still grumbly enough that the words slurred together, leaving only the hint of derogatory themes slipping through his lips.

Tamatoa was unimpressed. He was a hero! He deserved better than to be trash-talked like this! He had just opened his mouth to express that opinion, too, when the fearful urgings of the teenagers came, unbidden, back to him. He paused. Well, Mako _was_ a respected elder in the village. He’d let it slide, just this once.

The journey was not far, at least. They passed between the beach and the village proper, and Tamatoa noticed several more canoes than usual beached upon the sand. It looked like some traders had arrived, judging by the people milling about and the few humans who cast him surprised, fearful glances. They gave themselves away as newcomers to the village by doing that; all of Tamatoa’s people barely glanced at him as he followed Elder Mako into the village and to the meeting house.

Whispers accompanied the looks, as well. And these, spoken from human to human, were not so hard to make out. _“What is that?” “It’s so big!” “Why is there a monster here?”_

The last gave him pause. Well, yes, technically, he _was_ a monster. But he wasn’t like other monsters! He could speak and think and plan. He was raised by a demigod, and together they had done incredible, heroic things! He was a hero! Not a _monster!_

Nonetheless, the whispers kept up that tune until he and Mako turned inland and moved off of the beach. Not more than a few steps in, his antennae perked up as he caught a familiar scent. Looking around, he caught sight of Maui obliquely walking towards the meeting house as well, following an older woman whom Tamatoa knew to have once been Poto’s playmate. He met the demigod’s gaze as they converged, quirking an eye up in question. Maui shrugged silently and shook his head: He didn’t have any idea what was up, either.

Disgruntled but not voicing any opinions, at least not yet, Tamatoa let his curiosity simmer as he and Maui both drew up together in front of the meeting house. Elder Mako went straight inside, but the elder woman turned slightly to give them both a small smile before she entered, as well. The heroes paused together just outside to entryway, saying nothing for a moment.

“Why’d you get the nice one?” Tamatoa finally asked, petulantly.

Maui snorted. “Maybe because I wasn’t off stealing coconuts?”

Tamatoa squinted his eyes into a glare aimed at Maui. “I wasn’t _stealing._ ”

Maui smirked at him, a sly sideways smile with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Oh no? So everything Maeka asked for, you went and got and brought back to her?”

The crab had just opened his mouth to reply when a voice called from inside the meeting house. “We’re _waiting,_ boys!”

“Hmmph!” Tamatoa dismissed the conversation and turned back to the grand fale, one whole side of which had been left open. He stepped quickly and went ahead of Maui, ducking his head a little so as to not hit the edge of the thatched roof. But once inside, he sidestepped a pace to make room for his partner, allowing Maui to stand beside him so that they could both find out what was going on. Ahead of them, at the center of the half-circle of village elders, sat Old Man Tunui, the oldest human in the village. Poto sat immediately to his left, and the chief, young and new, stood behind the half-circle, present but not interrupting.

Without preamble, they began.

~~~

Being summoned by a group of elders was an old routine by now. Even if he hadn’t been expecting a call just then, Maui was prepared for the usual displays of formality that accompanied a meeting with the elders. He was surprised, however, when they were all bypassed, swiftly, and Elder Tunui began speaking.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the traders that have arrived on our shores today,” the aged man spoke. Beside him, Tamatoa snorted softly, but said nothing. Maui kept his perplexed attention on the elder. “They are not strangers to us. They have visited many times for decades, and have become our friends, though they do not believe us when we say that the demigod Maui calls our island “home.” And in this time, we have come to know them as calm, careful, and intelligent people.”

Maui shifted at the pause, heard Tamatoa tap a foot against the floor. This was… not exactly how he was used to meetings with elders going. Especially _these_ elders, whom he had known their entire lives. He opened his mouth to ask what this had to do with anything, when another elder, a woman named Aokuso, began to speak.

“Strange winds have carried stranger whispers,” she said, moving her hands emphatically to convey mystery. “Our friends, who fear nothing but storms, have arrived in terror and bring with them tales of darkness and evil. They say that no one is returning from voyages to the far west. They say strange ships follow them everywhere they sail.”

Well, that was dramatic. Again, Maui was briefly distracted by Tamatoa, the large crab uneasily shifting his weight. He looked over and caught his friend’s eye, but Tamatoa only lifted his claws in a shrug and flicked an antenna in dismissal.

“Okay, sssooooo…” Maui drew it out, letting his confusion hang in the air, looking back to the assembled elders. “This is all…” he waved his hands around, “... a bit much. Kinda spooky. And you’re telling us this… why?” But he knew, already. It was a familiar refrain: Something bad happened, and Maui was called upon to fix it. Usually there was a monster involved, and he and Tamatoa quickly dispatched those. Other times there was a dispute of some sort, and Maui would grudgingly sit as judge to resolve things peacefully. So to hear talk of sailors afraid of sailing, of a rising darkness, was nothing new. It meant something new to explore and investigate and get him away from the ache of memories that forever lingered on this particular island.

Elder Tunui picked up the conversation again. “Our friends confirm that they, themselves, have been pursued by unlikely ships. There is fear strongly rooted inside them, and they will not stay here with us long. The two of you should question them before they leave, and, if you deem it necessary, investigate the source of their claims. If they are being pursued, then the pursuers will eventually arrive here. We need to know who, or what, is behind this, and what their goals are. If we need to be prepared,” and he gave them both a long, calculating look, “then we need to know what we need to be prepared for.”

Maui was not inclined toward misgivings, but even if he had been they would have melted away. A little bubble of excitement swelled within him, and he grinned, his usual exuberance returning like a gust of wind. “Well! “Darkness” and “evil” sound like they’re right up our alley! Eh, buddy?” He nudged his elbow into the edge of Tamatoa’s shell, hard enough to hurt. Hurt himself, anyway; the crab’s shell was too thick and hard for Tamatoa to feel anything through it. Unperturbed, Maui threw a confident grin at the half-circle of elders. “Not a problem! We’ve got this handled.”

He didn’t even wait for a dismissal; formalities had already been cast aside, so why bother? The prospect ahead of him was enticing: a mystery to be solved! Potentially, bad guys to be beaten! And, hey, they’d mentioned that these traders wouldn’t actually expect to find him here, so this was a prime opportunity to show off everything that was Maui. Happier than he’d been since they’d returned to the island, Maui left the meeting house and started down the path to the beach.

“So what do you think is going on?” Tamatoa asked, catching up and walking alongside him. “Missing sailors and weird boats following along? Not really kakamora style.”

Maui shook his head in agreement. “Nah, kakamora would never hang back like that. And human pirates shouldn’t be _that_ scary.” Thoughtful, he cast his gaze out to sea. What else could be out there? And would it really come to the island?

His thoughts ground to a halt. _This_ island. This island that had been attacked before.

Quickly, he shook his head, clearing those memories out of his mind before he could actually _remember._ He looked ahead to the beach, focusing on the here and now, and pinpointed a pair of traders, surrounded by a gaggle of villagers. Shoving the past few moments aside, he picked up his pace and made a beeline to the two new faces.

He needed a distraction. Before the memories could catch up.

The sound of Tamatoa’s many-legged footsteps followed him, but Maui ignored him as he pasted a wide, suave grin across his lips. One of those traders was a lady, and he’d always had good luck charming the ladies.

Perfect.

He sidled his way into the throng of people, leaving Tamatoa, large and wide as he was, to linger outside the ring. The crab grumbled behind him, and distractedly Maui threw a wink back at his partner, before he managed to shove his way to the front of the throng.

“Hey there! Welcome to the island!” He caught the woman’s eye, looked her up and down at the same time he flexed his pectorals. “I’m Maui - yep, _that_ Maui, demigod of the wind and seas - and I was hoping you might be able to answer a few questions for me!” He grinned as her gaze caught on his chest; company for the night was all lined up. Now, to get back to business.

“So, we hear something’s happening out to the West. What do you make of that? And someone is following you? Any ideas on who or what that might be?” He hadn’t brought his hook along - who needs a magical fishhook to speak with a bunch of village elders? - so instead of leaning against it as he normally would, he cocked a hip out and folded his arms under his chest. It had the desired effect: the woman was transfixed. The man, however, straightened up. Maui caught him glancing briefly back to Tamatoa, an uncertain expression spread across his face, before looking back to Maui and speaking up.

“Strange ships. They patrol a line beyond our usual routes to the west. This is the third season we’ve seen them there, but four months ago, that was the first they’ve sent boats out after us.”

Three… seasons? Did he mean season-seasons or trading-seasons? Because if it was the latter… that was a long time for this to have been happening without his noticing. His eyes narrowed. And, for that matter… four months ago? Maui knew he wasn’t the best and keeping smaller measurements of time in mind, but that felt like how long it had been since he had slowed the sun. Coincidence?

“And these ships following you; kinda haphazard? Mini-islands?” He and Tamatoa had already agreed that this didn’t sound like kakamora style, but it didn’t hurt to be sure.

Finally the woman blinked and looked away from Maui’s chest and up to his eyes. “No, not kakamora. I’ve fought those pirates before. I would know.” Her eyes were serious, and barely-contained dread lingered behind them. Maui could tell, right then, that whatever was happening out there was severe. Seasoned sailors knew to fear certain things, storms and monsters alike, but to inspire this level of quiet horror-

“Maui,” the man spoke again, and again his eyes were trained on Tamatoa, still lingering outside the silent, curiously-listening crowd. "We've heard the tales about you and your deeds, and of your victories over monsters in the wild seas. But how did you come to tame one?"

The question brought Maui up short, stunned, as a strangled sound of dismay was wrested from his until-now quiet companion.

 _“Tame?!”_ Tamatoa all but snarled.

~~~

“Like I’m some _pet?!”_ he continued, dismay rising within him. His pincers clicked open and closed in his agitation; he was a _hero!_ He and Maui had done all sorts of incredible things together! They had just slowed down the sun! He had helped pull up islands! It was _his_ idea, thank you very much, to harness the wind, and he was there when Maui had brought back fire. Not to mention all of the monsters they had defeated! And here this guy was, calling _him, Tamatoa,_ a monster? And a tame one, at that?!

No way, dude.

His expression must have given him away, because the villagers between him and the man quickly stepped back. The silence rang for all of a second before Tamatoa realized there was literally nothing between him and giving this guy a piece of his mind.

He stepped forward.

Unexpectedly, both the man and the woman panicked. She reached behind herself and brought forth a long stone blade, brandished it at the ready. The man, however, backpedalled so fast he fell on his rump, sand flying as he still tried to back away.

The two very different reactions flummoxed Tamatoa, however, and he stopped after that one step, trying to decide what to do. Fury flared up at the sight of the knife, and a deep-seated urge to meet that challenge welled within him. On the other hand, the obvious panic in the man on the ground pulled him up short: he hadn’t meant to _scare_ the guy, only have stern words with him. But seeing him cowering on the ground, vulnerable…. His vision fixed on the man, and his antennae twitched; now, that-

But then Maui stepped in between. He smoothly covered the woman’s hand with his own, pushed the blade down and away. His voice was firm when he spoke.

“Tamatoa is my _friend_ and my _partner._ He is no threat to either of you. And I think you’d better apologize to him.”

Vindicated, Tamatoa crossed his claws over his chest and sniffed disdainfully. The nerve of these people! He looked down from his superior height, expecting that apology to be immediately forthcoming. But the man, gulping great breaths and still splayed in the sand, didn’t actually look like he _could_ say anything. And the woman…

The woman was looking at Maui. And Maui was looking at her. And whatever looks they’d been trading before, _now_ they were even more intense, flames fanned by all the excitement. Tamatoa narrowed his eyes.

Maui was always out seeking the attention of humans, this was a fact of life. And this was not the first time the demigod had sought out other recreational activities with individual members of the mortal species; nor would it be the last. This, too, Tamatoa was more than used to. But, to see his friend doing that _right now_ , with a human who had just _insulted_ him and who had yet to apologize, brought that anger back full bore. An ugly jealousy swiftly rose up within him.

His pincers clicked, sharply, impatiently. The surrounding crowd was dead silent.

Maui looked back at him. Hesitated for a long moment. Opened his mouth to finally say something.

But in that time, what little remained of Tamatoa’s patience wore thin. “Oh, nevermind,” he snapped. He uncrossed his pincers and stepped back, antennae sweeping stiffly up in a haughty display of dismissal. “You keep asking around, Maui. I’ll do my own investigating.”

Without even looking back, he turned and took off.

Exasperation bubbled up as he walked. He angled himself down to the beach away from the traders and the crowds, not wanting to invite any more abuse. Why couldn’t Maui have kept his mind on the task for one more minute? Just long enough for a proper apology. He should’ve demanded that apology himself, though. He didn’t need Maui to intervene for him anymore. He was a full-grown crab; had been for decades!

But that thought brought him up short. He wasn’t a demigod like Maui, who commanded respect just by existing. Old Man Tunui had highlighted that earlier: all the tales were about _Maui,_ not Maui and Tamatoa. No, not a demigod, and he certainly wasn’t a mortal human. He was a crab. Technically, he was a _monster_ crab. The trader’s words came back to him, and his pace slowed to a trudge as he mulled them over. He’d been called a monster, but monsters did horrible things. They stole and lied and ate people. He’d also been called tame, but that wasn’t right. Taming was what humans did to things they were going to eat, so they wouldn’t fight back. Tamed creatures were calm, predictable, gullible beasts, and Tamatoa was not like that. He was a clever, strong, and talented hero. He’d been raised by that selfsame demigod Maui, even!

A monster he may be, but he certainly was nothing like _other_ monsters. Tamatoa was one of a kind. And he was better than all of them.

Mind settled, he picked up his pace and resumed his march away. Maui could ask the questions. Tamatoa was going to check what was coming in with the tides. There were always plenty of clues to be sniffed out in the water.

~~~

On the other side of the beach, a pair of narrowed eyes watched events unfold.

Oh. This was going to be _fun._


	4. 3: Where Monsters Fear to Tread (Not Here)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3: Where Monsters Fear to Tread
> 
>   
> 
> 
> (Not Here)

The trade currents were on the south side of the island and, coincidentally, the south side had a wide shelf that extended out from the beach. It was unprotected from storms and so was not ideal for the beaching of canoes. However, it was perfect for Tamatoa to wade out and cast about for any scents in the ocean. He was tall enough to keep his head above water at even this far distance, and heavy enough that the rocking motion of the waves had no effect upon his balance. His eyes lazily scanned the horizon as his antennae flicked about in the sea, gathering information. He wasn’t expecting too much, to be honest. The traders had only arrived today, and the scent of their boats was strong in the water. He could also detect traces of the islands that they had recently visited, a certain flavor of minerals and animals and sometimes magic distinct for each one. A few he even recognized, though he could not place any at the moment.

But anything else? Nope, nothing. With this current, he would be able to smell any strange ships days before they could be seen on the horizon. And Tamatoa didn’t know if “darkness” was even a thing that would have a scent. He could smell nightblooms and nocturnal animals and plenty of other things that distinguished night from day, but not _night_ itself. Would it be any different for what was apparently a supernatural force?

Half of him wanted to doubt the story of these traders. They were wrong about him, so they could reasonably be wrong about any number of other things. But, the other half of him had to acknowledge their very real reactions. They had truly been scared, though they didn’t need to insult him about it. And the elders trusted them, and he trusted the elders… at least most of the time. And, for the here and now, he couldn’t sniff out anything unusual… but lack of evidence was not proof of _anything_ , one way or another. Sooner or later he would need to head back to the village and swap notes with Maui.

 _Hopefully_ Maui was actually questioning the traders. Tamatoa had seen all of those moves that the demigod had pulled on that mortal woman, and knew what they meant, but it was still pretty early in the newly-lengthened days. Maui had been talking up all this extra time to do things, so this was the perfect opportunity for the boastful demigod to prove his own point and get some work done.

Tamatoa, for his part, stayed put. The sunlight was warm on his back and and the water refreshingly wet and cool on his legs and abdomen. His antennae drifted lazily in the sway of the sea. It was lulling, and easily made him drowsy. He scanned the horizon again, letting his eyes swivel all the way around to check every direction. Then, slowly, his eyes began to drift closed.

A shadow passed over him.

At first, Tamatoa thought nothing of it. Just a bird. No big deal. Absently he flicked an antenna up, out of the water, to listen to the familiar raucous noise that passed for birdsong here on this island. Instead, a calm quiet was all that reached him.

It took a moment, in his lazy, drowsy state, before it clicked. It was _quiet._ _Too_ quiet.

Tamatoa’s eyes flashed open again, and his other antenna pulled up out of the water to join the first, both of them flicking around. He turned in the water, angling his whole body back toward the beach, looking and listening. Aside from the soft susurrus of the ocean, it was dead silent. There should have been bird calls and forest noises reaching him, even this far out. Instead, there was nothing.

His eyes swivelled around to scan the horizon one more time, but it remained as empty as before. He frowned, feeling something was amiss, and began wading back to the shore.

Animals only went silent like this when they were hiding. Something had spooked them. And the birds, who always littered the beaches with their noise, were conspicuously absent. He wouldn’t have spooked them, as far out and away from the beach as he’d been. The humans were a common sight and the noisome birds never seemed to be bothered by them. Quickly, Tamatoa reached a conclusion: there was something _else_ up there.

He raised his pincers up, keeping them at the ready, and picked up his pace. Just a few paces before he would step completely out of the water, finally something reached him: a _scent._ A foreign, warm-blooded, _monstrous_ scent. Tamatoa growled, eyes narrowing and pincers opening, ready for use. He knew there was an entrance to Lalotai not far from here, even if he didn’t know where exactly; Maui had never shown it to him. The villagers had always claimed that the demigod had blocked it up a long, long time ago, and the seas were peaceful here, now. But that didn’t mean the passage couldn’t be _unblocked_ , and something could find its way here.

Tamatoa wasn’t worried. He was big. He was strong. He and Maui had brought down several monsters already, and with great ease. He might be alone at the moment, but he knew he could handle whatever this might be. Even if it was something too big for him alone, he only had to hold if off long enough for Maui to reach him for backup.

His eyes swept up and down the beach before peering into the dense forest ahead of him. He approached the treeline, antennae swept ahead and scenting the ground, then poking into the foliage as he stepped even closer. The scent grew more distinct, carrying notes of ash, deep caves, and old, old earth. He stepped carefully in amongst the trees, eyes searching and antennae held up, alert. It wasn’t just the birds on the beach that had gone quiet, he realized. The entire forest was dead silent around him; no birds, no rodents, no insects. Barely even the rustle of leaves in the breeze. He swivelled his eyes around as he walked, checking every direction, including above and below. He had seen Maui caught off guard, simply for _not looking up,_ more times than he cared to count.

He crept forward, alert and wary. The scent grew stronger and stronger, and the silence more oppressive. A chill began to creep up his shell, and he grew cagey, anticipating danger with every step he took. Tamatoa pressed onward, into deeper forest, and the shadows seemed to darken more than could be accounted for simply by the fronds and leaves pressing overhead. The air thickened around him, the scent cloying. There was no noise; he could hear his own heartbeat.

Here. It had to be here. He stopped, waiting and watching, ready for anything. He kept his eyes and antennae moving, his pincers open, prepared to intercept an attack from any direction. He stayed still, and alert, and waited. Long minutes passed, and anticipation crept up like the tide coming in.

Nothing happened.

Then, all at once, sound and movement crashed back in. Birds squawked, insects chirped. The wind rustled overhead, and the oppressive shadows lightened. Surprised, Tamatoa straightened, his eyes opening wide and antennae sweeping up. He looked around, but whatever had been causing the close, harsh atmosphere had apparently disappeared. Even the scent that he had followed in here was now nowhere to be found.

Tamatoa blinked, befuddled. What had happened? He _knew_ something had been here, but where had it been? And where had it gone? He looked around, going so far as to turn his whole body around in a circle, checking everything from several angles with his eyes and scenting everything he could reach with his antennae.

Nope. Whatever it was, it was gone now.

He blew out a breath, annoyed. He should probably go tell Maui about this, too. Maybe his partner had heard something from the traders that would make sense of it all. He circled his eyes around in one last sweep of the area before gusting out a sigh. Disappointed in the decided lack of action, he took a step back towards the beach.

“Oh? Going so soon?”

“Huh?!” Startled, Tamatoa tripped over a stray root on the forest floor. He stumbled for a moment before regaining his balance, all the while looking around frantically for the speaker. “Who said that?!”

“Up here,” the disembodied voice called. “Turn a little to your left- yes, now up- very good.”

Tamatoa followed the voice’s directions without even thinking about it, too surprised and off-guard. And there…. There was a bat. A big white bat, just hanging upside down from one of the mulberry branches that intertwined overhead. Aside from the color it looked rather like the regular bats that lived on many islands in the area, except that this thing was also _considerably_ larger than any mortal animal could grow. It was almost as tall as one of his legs. And only one thing could grow that big: _monster._

His eyes narrowed and he glared up at the creature. “You’ve got some nerve, showing up here!”

The monster blinked at him, uncomprehendingly. “Oh? Is there something special about this forest?”

Tamatoa bared his teeth, a show of force meant to intimidate. “This is _my_ island and I say you’d better scram before someone gets hurt. Spoiler alert: it _won’t be me.”_

It stared shrewdly at him for a moment, upside-down and unblinking. “So the whole _island_ is special. Isn’t that something!” It grinned at Tamatoa, then, and the inverted expression was particularly unsettling. “What a rude introduction, however. Tsk. I would have thought you’d been taught better manners than that. Humans are always so particular about social cues and other nonsense.” It flicked a long, dark thumb in dismissal.

“Shows you,” he sneered. “I was raised by a _demigod!_ And he has _horrible_ manners!”

The bat blinked at him for a moment, silent, before bursting into laughter. The pitch went up slightly, and a disassociated part of Tamatoa realized this monster must be female. The rest of him, however, was in a rapidly souring mood as the laughter continued.

“Hey,” he growled. “Knock it off. Quit laughing and leave!”

The laughter quieted, almost as quickly as it had started. “Now why would I do that?” she asked, and wiped a tear from her eye with her thumb, the delicate membrane of the wing shifting a bit at the movement. “When staying here is going to prove to be _oh_ so much fun.” She cast him a canny smile, which he did not appreciate _at all._

Tamatoa’s patienced thinned dangerously, annoyance flushing through him. “I’m gonna have to prove you wrong on that,” he snapped. It was impossible to discern which tree, exactly, that particular branch belonged to, but they were all close enough it didn’t much matter. He started up the closest tree, eyes turned to keep watch over this bothersome bat as he moved ever closer. He wanted to be near enough to make a grab for it. “We don’t welcome monsters around here!”

“Oh no? And yet, they certainly seem to be making room for you.”

The way she had said it was so offhand, so nonchalant, that it took Tamatoa a moment before he realized it was an echo from the trader earlier. When it registered, he narrowed his eyes and took a wild swing, missing by several feet and barely making her blink at him, but still, he felt, making his ire known.

“I’ve _earned_ my place here. This is _my_ island and _my_ family. I’m a hero! And you know what heroes do to monsters, don’t you?”

“Much the same as monsters do to heroes, I imagine,” she replied, glib. Her eyes were narrowed, however, and her whole expression seemed to speak to great satisfaction. It didn’t sit well with Tamatoa.

“Is that a threat?” he asked, climbing a little higher but still unable to reach far enough to attack. He knew those branches wouldn’t hold his weight, however; this was as close as he could get. “Why don’t you come closer and back that up?”

She laughed again. “You and I both know that’s not going to happen.” She grinned at him, cutting and malicious; despite himself, Tamatoa felt a small spike of fear shoot through him. “Oh, no. I can do _much_ more damage from a distance.”

Okay, he couldn’t reach her, but Tamatoa _could_ reach the branch she was hanging from now. Never breaking eye contact, he closed one pincer around the wooden limb and began squeezing down with all of his considerable strength. The branch began to creak and groan beneath the onslaught of pressure.

The nuisance eyed him, a calculating expression now instead of malevolent. Her own smile slipped some, though she did not seem alarmed in the least, even when her branch began sagging. “Fine,” she said, and shrugged her shoulders in a dismissive, upside-down gesture. “If you gotta go, I understand. Don’t let me keep you.” She winked at him, but there was absolutely nothing friendly about the gesture. “We’ll chat more later.”

With that, she dropped from her perch, spread her wings, and with the flap of delicate skin disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

Tamatoa grumbled, staring after her. That was not, precisely, what he had meant to happen. He squeezed his pincer hard on the branch, and with a crack it finally broke and fell to the forest floor; too little, too late, but still somewhat satisfying. He stared after the creepy-looking mammal for a few minutes before deciding she wasn’t coming back any time soon, then climbed back down.

Where had that thing even come from? Certainly not with the traders, they’d had no monster scents lingering among them. And this island was too far away from other islands for most things to fly the distance. Perhaps that unknown entrance to Lalotai, though…. Maui had never mentioned it to Tamatoa directly, but it might be time to ask him about it outright. If _this_ little bothersome bat was here, who knew when something bigger might show up?

~~~

Maui sighed wearily, trudging up the path to the guest fale and his very comfortable sleeping mat. What a day! First the hard work of helping to dig up taro root, then the task of sussing out information. Usually he was suave and charming and got results with little effort. But today….

Today, something had been off. It had all started well enough, with that first pair of traders. But then the man had offended Tamatoa, and Tamatoa had stormed off. Maui could understand why: Tamatoa was proud and a formidable opponent in a fight; so being called tame, as though he were some small, snuffling pig… yeah, that was an insult. Maui knew the trader hadn’t meant anything by it, he had just let his fear of other things get the better of him.

And, Maui had to admit, it sounded like there were things worthy of being feared out there. He had asked more questions, and had discovered that shortly after he had slowed the sun, strangely-built sailing vessels bearing aggressive, relentless peoples had begun venturing across the waters. One ship in the trading fleet had been boarded and attacked after making friendly overtures; most of the crew had managed to flee, jumping overboard and swimming to the rest of the fleet, and from there the survivors had managed to escape while the attackers performed some sort of celebratory ritual. But before they could leave that disaster behind them, even more unfriendly sails had appeared on the horizon.

One older man among the traders had even claimed to have seen a monster.

Maui kind of doubted that, though. He and Tamatoa had cleared many monsters out of the seas and had sealed off all of the bigger entrances into Lalotai. And even if they _had_ missed some, Maui had trouble believing any monster would willingly work with humans.

Still, it was undeniable: there were aggressive forces out there, and likely headed this way.

He reached the fale and slowly turned around, leaning against one of the support poles and looking back out across the water, to the horizon. What could be out there? And did it have anything to do with the days being longer, after all?

Maui was curious more than he was concerned. He had pulled off impossible feats of strength and daring in the past, and he and Tamatoa together were unbeatable. When his friend returned from his sulk, Maui would fill him in on what he had learned and suggest they leave in a few days time - go out and meet the oncoming challenge. The call to adventure, the itch for action - both were alive inside him and as strong as ever. Stronger, even, as his desire to leave this island - and its accompanying memories - again became ever greater. No, better to get out there and meet this new threat head-on, the same way he had always done.

He ignored the little whisper in the back of his mind saying that was a terrible idea.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new player has entered the arena! This is gonna be fun. ;)
> 
> Feel free to drop me a line over at [raptor-moon.tumblr.com!!!](http://raptor-moon.tumblr.com/) I promise I'm super fun to chat with! ^_^ And, you know, if you ask for a sneak peek I'm 110% likely to give you one, so there's that.


	5. 4: No More Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4: No More Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actions speak louder than words.

The sun was closer to the horizon than it was to the apex of the sky by the time Tamatoa finally meandered his way back to his and Maui’s fale. The way evenings stretched out for hours now was nice, particularly here on the island; the light stretched out across the ocean and highlighted the peak of the mountain all while cooler breezes began threading their way amongst the trees and homes. The pace of living was so different on an island when compared to sailing. At sea, they needed the stars to navigate and keep themselves on course. On land, the beautiful stars were so often reduced to the focal points of stories.

His recent experience with the monster bat lingered on Tamatoa’s mind. It was obvious she meant trouble, and he wouldn’t doubt it if she was somehow connected to whatever it was the traders feared.

He paused before getting too close to his fale, sniffing and listening for a hint of mortal company, but there were only signs of Maui hanging around. That woman would probably be around later, when it grew dark, but for now, at least, Tamatoa had Maui’s attention to himself. He walked around the side of the building and found Maui sitting at the entrance. The demigod looked up as he caught sight of him, and offered Tamatoa a small, tentative smile. “Hey, buddy,” he said. “I’m, uh, sorry about earlier.”

Maui sounded more awkward than contrite, and he hadn’t named what exactly he was sorry for, but Tamatoa accepted it nonetheless. He flicked an antenna in dismissal and continued forward to sit next to Maui. “Yes, well, not everyone can handle how awesome I am,” he said, preening, and shoving to the side any thoughts of the words so thoughtlessly flung at him earlier. “So, what did you find out?”

Maui’s face fell from sheepish into serious. “One of their ships was attacked, and people were killed. One old man said he saw a monster, but nobody else could say the same. And… you were there, they said most of this started four months ago. You think it had anything to do with the sun?”

Tamatoa’s interest piqued at the mention of a monster, but he let his attention dwell on Maui’s question first. “Well, I know a lot of things changed when we did that. And there were several, shall we say, _individuals_ who were unhappy about it already, you might recall. But that was almost eight months ago now.” He shrugged his claws, bringing them up then back down. “So, I mean, it could be, but it’s as likely as not. What did the old guy say about a monster?”

Maui raised an eyebrow but answered. “He said that he could see something large and red swimming beneath the waves. He would have thought a whale if not for the color.”

Tamatoa felt a twinge of disgruntlement. Some huge lurid fish was definitely not a small white bat. “We might have two monsters to deal with then, man. When I was out I met this bat.”

Maui’s eyes went wide and he visibly began searching over Tamatoa, looking for injuries. He waved a pincer dismissively. “She didn’t fight. She’s smaller than you, even. She talked a bit, I threatened her, and then she ran- well, flew -away.”

“Is she gonna be a threat to the villagers?” Maui asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tamatoa considered on that. She’d barely talked about the humans, seemingly far more interested in him; but could that have been to distract him from her true purpose? Then again, she was small. Smaller than Maui, even smaller than most human adults. That didn’t really seem like much of a danger to him.

“I… don’t think so,” he said. “Not that it’s easy to suss out any monster’s motivations beyond ‘rawr, eating people!’,” he made a face and raised his pincers, snapping them a few times to illustrate his point, “but I don’t think she’s here for them.”

Maui chuckled. “You make it sound like she wants to eat _us.”_

Tamatoa stuck his tongue out. “She _might.”_

Maui worked his jaw for a moment, obviously thinking hard. “Alright. Keep your eyes open and antennae up for her, but otherwise I think we should focus on what’s out on the water.”

Tamatoa quirked his eyes at Maui, doubtful. “You think so? She might be small fry, but she’s already _here._ Whatever is out there is still weeks away. There was nothing in the water, by the way. No scents on the currents except these traders who just arrived. If anything was closer than a few days out, I would have smelled them.”

Maui looked stumped, at that. “I’ve just got this feeling,” the demigod murmured. “Something telling me that we need to get out there.”

Tamatoa sniffed disdainfully. “That’s just your wanderlust, Maui. We barely got back. Why do you want to leave again so soon?” He was getting tired of it, too. It seemed like every time they came home, they stayed a shorter time, and it took longer and longer to come back.

He watched as Maui worked his jaw, and wondered if the demigod would manage to spit any words out or not. Finally, the demigod shook his head and sighed. “I’m the demigod of the wind and sea,” he began, and Tamatoa could already tell this was going to be a half-assed explanation. “I’m meant to be… out there,” Maui gestured to the horizon. “Meet threats as they come. Or go meet them. I’m no good at just waiting.”

Irked, Tamatoa muttered the first thing that came to mind, “You’re fine with waiting when it’s something that _you_ want.”

Maui turned to face him again, a baffled expression starting to spread across his face. “Come again?”

“Well,” he said, a bit primly. “Here you are, just waiting right now. You waited for me to come back. You’re waiting for that woman to show up any time.” Maui opened his mouth, but Tamatoa didn’t let him start. “Oh, don’t deny it. I saw the way you looked at her. And don’t worry, she shared your interest - I could _smell_ it on her.” Mood considerably fouled, Tamatoa stood. “And in which case I’ll leave you to your _waiting._ I wouldn’t want to be here to _ruin the mood_ for you.” He glanced at Maui with a subtle sneer, letting the demigod know in _no_ uncertain terms that he was angry. Then, he marched off down the path and into the village. He heard Maui call after him, but was in no mood to hear him out. Too many things had been knocking him around today, and he wasn’t going to stand for any more of them. Time to go find somebody who actually _appreciated_ him.

~~~

Maui watched his partner trudge off, again, and sighed. It seemed like he just couldn’t get anything right with Tamatoa today. It almost felt like something was bothering the crab, but Tamatoa was always so cocksure and confident, Maui couldn’t imagine anything getting underneath that thick shell of his.

He sighed, and let his worry evaporate. Tamatoa could be counted on to get over whatever was going on, and he, Maui, had other things on his mind. His friend had been right about one thing, though: whatever was out there wasn’t here right now, and Maui was expecting company tonight.

He stretched, a grin spreading across his face, then stood. He looked into his fale and cocked his hip, considering. Yeah, this place definitely looked like two bachelors lived here, and most ladies didn’t care for that. With a whistle on his lips, he set about to tidying up.

~~~

Tamatoa grumbled under his breath as he meandered down into the village. People bustled about finishing chores, or sat around together visiting, and many called out to him as he passed. He acknowledged them all, and their kind attention was a balm to his ruffled ego, but he didn’t stop to join any of them. He had a vague notion to go visit Maeka, avail himself of whatever she had in the works for dinner. She was always so quiet though, rarely speaking to him and only using short sentences when she did; Tamatoa missed Kaona, who had as good as adopted him into her family nearly a century ago and had been great at telling stories, and even Lola, who had always been kind and helpful and always invited him to dinner and sometimes told him all the village gossip.

His antennae perked up. Poto, though. Poto was still here, and he knew that once he left this island he would never see his old friend again. It was a good idea to spend some time with him now.

Destination fixed in his mind, Tamatoa continued his trek through the village, angling back around to reach the low hills where Poto made his home. He was passing by the large meeting fale, listening to the sounds of the traders and villagers within, when a single man stepped out from behind a hanging tapa cloth. Tamatoa paused, his eyes fixed on the human.

It was the one who had called him “tame.”

The man caught sight of him almost immediately, and froze, staring with wide eyes. Three heartbeats passed, in which Tamatoa counted up his many frustrations of the day. They hadn’t started with this man, nor ended with him, but he was here _now_ and that was good enough.

He smiled, slick and insincere, and took a small, sideways step closer, pincers held low and unthreatening. “Well, must have been quite the day for you,” he began. “Hunted, fleeing from a monster in the sea, and when you wind up here you find _another_ one.” He stepped closer, watched the man’s throat bob up as he swallowed in fear. “Luckily for you, of course, I am _quite tame.”_ His grin grew to show just a few too many teeth.

The man stumbled as he tried to step backwards, attempting to put some distance between them. As fast as lightning, Tamatoa darted a pincer forward and caught the man by the arm. He didn’t help steady him, merely held him there, off-balance and hyperventilating. “Don’t worry. This is _my_ island, and I promise you’re _safe_ here.” At the word, he gave the man a little shake; nothing harsh, nothing painful, but just enough to rattle him to his knees. “Nothing here can hurt you.”

He left the “except me” unspoken, but he saw the comprehension in the man’s eyes, plain as day. It was just barely dark enough, he thought, and pushed up his bioluminescence. It wasn’t much, he knew, just the hint of a glow on his face and pincers. Nonetheless, the man’s eyes bulged. Satisfied, Tamatoa let his smile grow wider. “Have a pleasant evening,” he crooned, and released the man’s arm. Without looking back, he walked off, continuing on his way.

Call _him_ tame? Yeah, no. Tamatoa was anything but.

Tamatoa’s mood the rest of the way to Poto’s fale was much improved and he relaxed his hold on his glow. The payback had been a release of tension he’d been carrying all day, from the moment Elder Mako had stood in front of him with that unimpressed stare. Arrogant demigods and monster bats be damned; Tamatoa was determined to make sure the evening only got better and better from here.

When they had arrived back on this island, nearly a month ago now, Tamatoa had been surprised to find that Poto no longer lived in his mother’s home some distance outside the village and at the edge of the coconut grove, but had instead moved further into the village. He had been slightly disappointed, as that had been a favorite, secluded spot, but he understood, at least abstractly, the reasons why. Poto was old. His one child had predeceased him, leaving Maeka and her children his only immediate family left. He had moved closer to the village to be closer to all of them.

While Tamatoa certainly didn’t have any children of his own, he could understand. Kaona had been the first to call him family, and had always accepted him into her home with open arms every time they sailed back here. And Maui, demigod as he was, had raised Tamatoa, and their bond had grown unsinkable. Out of everyone he had ever known, those two were Tamatoa’s favorites.

These pleasant thoughts carried him all the way to his friend’s home, where Tamatoa could just see the faintest dim hints of firelight creeping through the cracks between hanging tapa and support posts. He stepped up and tapped lightly with his pincer on one of those posts, announcing his presence.

“Hey, Poto- _matua!_ ” he called. “Think you can make some time for an _old_ friend?”

Laughter drifted out to greet him, and Tamatoa smiled.

“Absolutely, Tamatoa, my friend! Please let yourself in.”

Delicately he brushed aside the tapa cloth, making sure it didn’t snag on the ridges of his antennae, and carefully edged himself in. It was a tight squeeze, with as wide as his shell had grown, but then he was in and stepping over to his friend and dipping low to press their foreheads together in a _hongi,_ Poto too frail to stand to meet him. They held the space between them for a moment, Tamatoa’s mind flashing quickly to the memory of his first _hongi_ with Kaona, before Poto laughed and pulled back.

“To what do I owe the honor of your presence this night, old friend?” the old man asked.

Tamatoa shrugged, pincers lifting up then back down, before settling in to sit. “Oh, you know, after all the excitement today I thought I might come cheer you up. Old Man Tunui still giving you guff?”

Poto rolled his eyes, rocking backwards exaggeratedly. “Don’t you know it! You’d think for a man only twelve years older than me, he could learn a bit of humor, but _nooo,_ he has to be serious all the time.” He shook his head and released a dramatically resigned sigh, then leaned forward eagerly. “So! Tell me! What did you learn from the traders today?”

Tamatoa told him the things he’d learned from Maui, and relayed the tale of his meeting the bat - overemphasizing his role in scaring her off and assuring Poto that, no, there was no way that thing was gonna hurt any people here. From there he launched into telling the stories of his recent adventures, the smaller ones that were great for intimate settings like this, and not the grandiose feats such as slowing the sun. He told Poto about the island that he and Maui had pulled up that had sandy beaches that glittered the same blue as the midday sky. He told him about this octopus monster that did nothing but ask riddles, but never waited for Tamatoa nor Maui to answer and instead answered them itself. He told him about the argument he and Maui had had about just how high the demigod had actually lifted the sky.

“And I told him, ‘Dude, you were standing on top of a mountain already, you literally only pushed it up maybe two inches.’” Poto was laughing, and the good humor had Tamatoa in high spirits. “And he says, get this, “I had to push the sky up the whole way while we climbed the mountain!’ And I say, ‘Wow, considering how much hot air you were blowing about how great you are, I’m surprised even a windbag like you wasn’t out of breath!’”

Poto wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye. Tamatoa laughed at his own wit, his antennae shaking behind him. It was so nice having an attentive audience, instead of someone always trying to usurp his stories.

It was nearly full-dark outside, only the last rays of the sun still shining from beyond the horizon. Inside the fale, darkness was held back by the warm light of a pair of torches. Another tap came to the post just then, and without waiting for an answer the tapa cloth was pushed aside. In came Maeka, Poto’s granddaughter and the second-best chef Tamatoa had ever known. She took in Tamatoa’s presence before turning to her grandfather with a serene smile. “It’s time for dinner, Grampa. Let me help you up?”

The old man waved her forward and they grasped hands, Maeka providing a firm grip while Poto wobbled slowly, achingly to his feet. Tamatoa opened his mouth to offer his own assistance, but saw they had it well in hand. With a groan, Poto straightened up, then turned to his old friend.

“Thank you for your company tonight, Tamatoa,” he said. “Perhaps you’ll visit again tomorrow?”

Tamatoa was a little caught off-guard. It sounded like they were going to leave - and eat - without him? “You’re welcome!” he responded, and stood. “In fact, I’d be happy to join you tonight, I co-”

“I’m sorry, Tamatoa,” Maeka interrupted, finally addressing him. “I wasn’t expecting you for dinner and have not made enough.” She met his look with a cool, distant expression, and a certain flintiness in her eyes. “And besides, my home is too small and my family too large; we could not hope to fit you inside.” Her smile then was polite, but remote. Tamatoa felt a little lost.

“Oh,” he finally said, ever-so-eloquent. “Yeah, no, no problem.” He looked to Poto, hoping for his friend to say something to overrule his granddaughter, but the old man only smiled tiredly. “After you, then,” Tamatoa finally finished, and motioned the two to go ahead.

They exchanged pleasantries outside, then the two humans meandered off into the night. Tamatoa hesitated, considering his options. Maui would have company tonight, he didn’t want to go there. The other people in the village he didn’t know half so well; he and Maui had been gone too long to keep up many connections. Put off-balance by Maeka’s words, Tamatoa instead turned and wandered into the dark jungle. Maybe he could find that bat again and _convince_ it to leave for good.

~~~

When dawn broke over the island, Maui rolled groggily away from the light that prodded past his eyelids. It was a quiet morning. He almost fell back asleep, except that something in the back of his mind niggled at him, insisting that something was amiss and that he should wake up and figure out what it was.

Sleepily, he reached out a hand, seeking Tamatoa’s shell to give the crab a smack and tell him to go check; Tamatoa always woke up faster than Maui did so he could go do the figuring out. But there was nothing there for his hand to find.

Blearily, the demigod opened his eyes. The fale was empty save for himself. He rolled over, back into the sun, and blinked a few times. Nope, nobody over there, either. Wasn’t there supposed to be somebody there? He’d been waiting, hadn’t he?

He stared out blankly for a long moment before his mind caught up. Oh, right. Tamatoa had left him alone last night so he could have other company. But she’d never shown up. Wait, why was that? Maui rubbed a hand over his face, clearing the cobwebs out of his mind. He looked out at the water, but it took almost a full minute before he registered what he saw.

Or, rather, what he didn’t see. The traders’ canoes were all gone. He blinked, dumbfounded, before getting up, stretching, grabbing his hook, and making his way down to the water.

Several villagers had already gathered on the beach, concern and annoyance both ringing equally in their voices.

“I only just got what he wanted to trade for-”

“-why they would leave so suddenly?”

“-heard that somebody threatened one of-”

“-hope they come back with those-”

A young boy ran up to him, then, the sand kicking out behind him. “Maui!” he asked, eyes wide. “Do you know what happened? The traders all left in the night!”

Maui looked at this boy, recognized him, or maybe somebody he was related to, but couldn’t recall a name. He squatted down to be closer to eye-level and gave the boy an easy smile. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Togu.”

“Well, Togu, I _don’t_ know what happened to them. Well, I mean, obviously they left, but I don’t know why. But tell you what!” He leaned forward, conspiratorially. “I’m gonna go find out, right this moment, and I’ll come back and tell you. Mmm’kay?”

“Okay,” the kid, Togu, responded, a breathless sort of anticipation present in his voice.

Maui winked and stood back up, stepped away a few paces to make room. “Chee-hoo!” he shouted, and with a bright flash of light he changed into his favored giant hawk form. There was a smattering of shocked and excited gasps from the people around him, which he only heard in the brief moment before he launched himself into the sky with a mighty leap from his feathered legs and powerful sweeps of his wings. He gained altitude quickly, looking around with his sharp vision, trying to pinpoint the traders. But there was no sign of their white sails anywhere to the east, or north, or south. When Maui circled, to check the western horizon, he pulled up short, not believing his own eyes.

There, on the farthest reaches of his vision, where even as a hawk he could only barely make them out, was a strange sight to behold: a fleet of black sails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many and endless thanks to my beta readers, JadeWolf and TheFredricus!!! I know I make a lot of mistakes and I'm so grateful you're there to help me set them right!!!!
> 
> Readers! Are you ready? The wait is over. Let the fun begin.
> 
> AND! Have you been wondering about this bat who showed up? I've got some [Awesome Art!](http://thefredricus.tumblr.com/post/170740688674/concept-art-incidentally-this-is-my-500th) by TheFredricus right here! Please do go look and enjoy!!! I'm certainly over the moon! *swoons*
> 
> (Also please do find me at [Tumblr](http://www.raptor-moon.tumblr.com) for a peek at what it's like inside my head. And where I might start doing sneak peeks of the story, whatcha think?


	6. Interlude 1: The Things We Call Ourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude 1: The Things We Call Ourselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back!
> 
> Many thanks to JadeWolf for betaing and letting me know how sad it made her. :D I aim to ensadden!!!

Maui sat despondently aboard his canoe, watching the tiny crab monster as it splashed its claws in the water. He had to envy the little thing’s cheerful obliviousness, giggles bubbling up every time it managed to splash hard enough to get water on its face. The demigod envied this creature its carefree attitude; he, himself, still ached with loss. The memory was still too recent, the grief still sharp. After his descent into Lalotai, seeking revenge and finding what he felt had become his responsibility, he had set sail aimlessly, loosely circling the island of his home but not yet returning. He couldn’t face it yet. Couldn’t bear the thought of seeing all of the destruction again.

In his grief, he had many times thought about tossing this monstrous souvenir overboard. Crabs that walked on land couldn’t swim, and the world would be less one more monster. But each time that thought crossed his mind, a different, more recent memory rose up: the image of this tiny, helpless thing looking up at him with unparalleled fear. _Who’s the monster here?_ he had wondered then, but even now the question lingered.

Days later, he had given up on the notion of being rid of the creature. Maui wasn’t sure when, exactly, that had happened, but somewhere along the line he had decided that it was not a course of action he could bring himself to take. There had been too many innocent deaths already; even if it was a monster and the spawn of the creature who had killed his family, Maui couldn’t bring himself to add one more mark to that tally.

So, he just… sailed. And tried not to think, or remember. And failed miserably every single day.

Maui must have slipped into a doze, because he came awake to a prodding at his leg. He opened his eyes and looked down to find the little crab creature looking back up at him. The sunlight behind him reflected off of the seashell it wore, and Maui squinted against the brightness.

“Yeah?” he asked, gruffly. “What do you want?”

It spoke. Maui blinked.

“Uuuhhm. What?”

It blinked at him, then spoke again, more slowly.

“I thought you spoke my language, kid. Remember 'up'?”

“Up!” it repeated, and smiled. It gestured out at the water, then up at the sky. “Up!”

“Yeah, okay, so you got that. You know any other words?”

The little crab repeated its words from earlier, this time moving its claws up to its mouth.

It clicked. His daughter had done the same thing when she was hungry. The mouth was for food.

“You’re hungry!” Maui exclaimed, and a small ribbon of delight threaded through him at his understanding. Already reclined against the mast, it was the work of a moment to reach into the hold and pull out a few fruits. He watched as the little crab’s eyes widened in surprise and, dare he say it, joy as it grabbed for a banana, biting into the thick yellow skin and chewing through a smile.

Maui laughed, and let the distraction take root amidst the turmoil in his mind. “Hungry,” he repeated. “And now you’re eating food. Probably not what you’re used to, though. I, uh-” he stumbled, not wanting to follow that thought through. “I could do some fishing?”

The crab just watched him, munching on a second bite of banana.

Maui’s stomach chose that moment to grumble, and he absently glanced down at his navel. “I guess I should eat too. Okay, fishing.” He nodded determinedly.

The only problem was that Maui was horrible at fishing. He always had been.

He sat there, a line with a regular hook in the water, and hoped and waited. The crab finished the banana, and a mango, and an ulu fruit, before licking the juices off of its claws and wandering closer. It sat next to Maui and took in the string of the fishing line. Tentatively, it lowered a single antenna into the water, then turned its eyes to look back up at him. Despite himself, Maui snorted.

“I’m fishing,” he explained, holding out the line. “Get you something you’re more used to.” The crab tentatively took the string between its pincers, looking at it curiously. It shook the line a bit, tracing shallow ripples in the water. Suddenly, the string began sliding quickly through the crab’s claws and down into the water. It looked up in confusion, grip not tight enough to hold the line; and just as well, as Maui quickly grabbed it up to keep whatever was hooked from escaping. He pulled quickly at the line, reeling it in, and moments later a nice fat fish, bigger than the crab itself, sat on the deck behind him.

Proudly, Maui gestured. “Here you go, little guy! Fresh meat!”

The crab stared at it for a moment, then looked back up to him. Despite the language gap, it was pretty clear it was confused.

“You know, fish? Fish is food?” He opened his mouth and pointed his finger into it. The crab responded by putting its own pincers up to its mouth, then quirking its eyes. It looked like a question.

“What, you’ve never had fish? It’s pretty good.” He picked it up and bit into it, to demonstrate, then set it back down. When he looked at the crab again, if he didn’t know any better, he’d say the thing looked offended.

Maui swallowed before he shrugged. “Yeah, I know. Fish always seems like it needs something. I’ll have to figure that one out later.”

The crab continued to watch him, then finally reached out a tiny pincer and tore off a piece of fish. It glanced back up at him, unsure, then put the little chunk in his mouth. Immediately its expression changed to one of baffled disgust.

Maui laughed. “Yeah, okay, fish ain’t your thing. I’ll have you try something else when we get back to-” But his mind shut down. Back to the island? Home? His home that had so recently been ravaged by this thing’s parent?

Suddenly that didn’t seem like a good idea.

“New plan!” Maui announced, forcing cheer into his voice and shoving all of those still-so-very-painful thoughts aside. He glanced at the horizon, cloud swells and position of the sun, stretched a foot out to check the temperature of the water, then tugged the sheetline to adjust the sail. It wouldn’t take them directly to a neighboring island, but it would get them going in the right direction. He tied it off then looked back to his small companion. The crab was watching him with fascination, the fish forgotten on the deck.

“So, okay,” Maui continued, having successfully distracted himself from the encroach of bad memories. “I guess food is sorted for now. What should I call you?”

The crab just looked back at him steadily.

“...right. You have no idea what I’m asking, do you?” He scratched his head, thinking. “I guess I’ll have to give you a name. Uhhh, how’s Crabby sound? Maybe Pinchy?”

It was almost as if the little thing _knew_ he wasn’t being serious, with that speculative, unimpressed look he was getting now. The crab spoke a few words of its own language, and Maui shook his head, chuckling.

“Sorry, little guy, I’ve got no clue what you just said. Uh,” he paused, as a thought occurred to him. “You _are_ a boy, right? Something about you is saying ‘boy.’”

The little crab only tilted his head curiously. Maui winced. “We’re going with boy. You can correct me later if I got it wrong. Uh, sorry in advance, if that’s the case.” He leaned back and eyed the crab, speculatively. “You strike me as a Paora. Pretty small. You seem smart.”

The crab waved his antennae around but otherwise didn’t react.

“Okay. I take that back. Rawiri, that seems popular these days?” Maui held up his hands in a questioning shrug.

Staring was the only response he got. In fact, the little guy seemed bored, drooping a bit and looking away.

Thinking furiously, Maui blurted the first word that came to mind. “Nikau?”

Nope. Off the tiny monster went. Maui slumped, defeated, and just absently watched as the kid stepped back to the fish. He circled it slowly, eyeing it. He paused at the place where Maui had taken a bite, touched the area delicately with his antennae before pushing his tongue out of his mouth, in a gesture much like disgust. Surprised, Maui laughed. The kid looked back at him briefly before grinning. With a noise that Maui could only describe as the tiniest roar, the crab scaled its way up the side of the dead fish, then pranced upon it, waving his little claws in what looked like an elaborate, if ferocious, dance.

Despite himself, Maui guffawed. “That almost reminds me of a _haka!”_ he enthused, grinning. “A little warrior, huh? How about Tamatoa?”

The crab whipped around so fast to look at him again, Maui thought at first he’d sensed something out in the water. Reflexively he turned to look, but the ocean was as calm as before and there was nothing in sight between there and the horizon. He looked back to the crab, baffled. “What? ‘Tamatoa'?” Does that mean something to you?”

The crab nudged itself in the cheek, grinning. “Tama!”

“What, really? You like the name Tamatoa?” Maui raised his eyebrows; he could hardly believe that had turned out so easy!

“Tama!” The newly-confirmed Tamatoa nudged his cheek again and danced in place.

“Hey, great, you’ve got a name!” Maui clapped his hands together. “Tamatoa it is.” He put his own hand up to his chest. “And I’m Maui. Think you can say that?”

Tamatoa squinted and pursed his lips. “Mmm- Mowrie?” Then he pointed directly at Maui’s face.

The demigod chuckled. “Close enough; we’ll work on that.”

“Mowrie!”

“That’s right. Well, pleased to have you aboard, Tamatoa.”

“Mowrie!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: "ulu" is breadfruit  
> The names Maui suggests were lovingly selected by JadeWolf from a list of "most popular Maori baby boy names." ^_^
> 
> Thanks for tuning in yet again, dear readers!!! I hope you enjoy this story! PLEASE please do leave me comments, I love them, I'll love you forever, tell me things and I'll write them, you can even find me at [raptor-moon.tumblr.com](http://raptor-moon.tumblr.com/) and I'm a very friendly person if you wanna chat or leave asks or what-have-you!


	7. Clash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5: Clash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyy, lookit I'm back and the story continues!!!!
> 
> Once again apologies for my long delay. Stuff happened and left me stumped and it's just taken this long to get back into the swing of things. I'll try to resume my every-other-week schedule from here, but I'm also not going to kick myself if it doesn't happen. Your cheers will help me along, though!
> 
> And with that... on with the show....

Tamatoa hadn’t really been expecting anything when he returned to the village in the morning. He’d spent the first half of the night searching for that googly-eyed bat, and the second half of it sleeping his frustrations away. When the sun came up, that dawn was just like any other.

So it took him by surprise when Maui came rushing up, frantic and excited.

“You said you didn’t smell anything!”

Tamatoa blinked. “Uh, come again?”

Maui heaved in a breath, eyes sparkling. “You said you didn’t smell any ships in the water. Nothing beyond the horizon?” His teeth gleamed pearly white in the early morning sun, shining through his broad smile.

“That’s right?” Tamatoa was, needless to say, quite confused.

_ “They’re here!”  _ Maui gushed, more a loud whisper than anything. “They’re here already. Black sails on the horizon, they’ll be here after noon.”

“Wait, what?” Tamatoa asked, looking Maui in the eye. “How can they be here already? I would’ve smelled them if they were that close!”

Maui practically danced in place. “I know! Isn’t it exciting? There must be something special about them, or their ships, or-!”

It all clicked into place, then. Sure, a mystery about the ships, but at least now Tamatoa knew what Maui was on about. He sighed.

“Man, you’re really spoiling for a fight, aren’t you?” Tamatoa rolled his eyes, dropping his pincers in exasperation. “Who says they’re even here for a fight? What do the traders have to say about it all?”

A strange look crossed Maui’s face, briefly, but it did nothing to diminish his enthusiasm. “They’re gone, actually. Packed up and sailed off in the night.”

Tamatoa’s antennae perked up at that. “What, really?” He remembered his none-too-gentle handling of the cowardly sailor and wondered if that had anything to do with it, then dismissed the thought. They’d been afraid of these incoming strangers the whole time; obviously they hadn’t wanted to stick around for these new guys to show up again.

Maui was nodding, oblivious. “Which is too bad, really, since now they don’t get to see me in action-” he flexed, and Tamatoa rolled his eyes again, with greater exaggeration, “-but at least I’ll get the chance to remind everyone  _ here _ about all the great things about me!”

“Uh huh,” Tamatoa said, utterly deadpan. “Yeah. You keep telling yourself that, man.”

~~~

“You are both to wait in the village.”

“What? No way! You can’t tell a demigod what to do!” Maui spluttered, indignant. Beside him, Tamatoa held a pincer up to his mouth and delicately chuckled behind it. Maui glared at him. Tamatoa winked back.

Maui turned back to Elder Tunui.  _ “Why?” _

Tunui glared at him, the sunlight behind him casting is aged face into stark, shadowed relief. “You will stay here and not interfere as we welcome new guests to our shores. Yes-” he held up a hand, stopping Maui’s attempt at interrupting. “-I realize our friends were afraid of these ships and these people. They are good people, but sailors and traders.  _ We  _ are warriors, Maui. We have trained in the traditions  _ you _ taught our forefathers, generations ago. You may have been here first, but this is  _ our _ island and  _ our _ village. We will do things  _ our _ way, and you will  _ not _ interfere.”

Maui glared. Tunui met his glare with a cool but unmoving expression. Maui didn’t get it; he was a powerful and ageless demigod, millennia older than this man standing before him, and he was being talked down to as though he were a child!

Tamatoa quietly chortled. “Told you so,” he muttered, sotto voce.

Maui seethed. Then he whirled around and stormed off, back through the village and up the little hill to his and Tamatoa’s fale, whereupon he spun again and dropped himself into a miffed cross-legged position, staring out to the open water. In his peripheral vision he could see Tamatoa making his way up the same path, but Maui didn’t look at him. He was too peeved and restless with undirected energy. The black sails were not yet in sight, but they would be soon. Maui watched that horizon line as though he were in his hawk skin.

The crab took his time in making his way up, but when he did finally arrive he settled daintily next to the demigod, tucking his legs tidily beneath himself and resting his pincers on the ground.

“I can’t believe you’re  _ amused  _ by all of this,” Maui grumbled, without looking over.

“I’m amused at  _ you,  _ man. I rarely see you so petulant, and it’s awfully funny to see a thousands-of-years-old demigod pouting like a little human child.”

“I’m not  _ pouting,”  _ Maui insisted.

“Little Maui!” Tamatoa singsonged, and reached up to pat Maui on the head. “You can go play soon if you behave!”

Maui shot him a venomous, withering glare, and pushed the pincer deliberately away from his head.

Tamatoa snickered, but let it drop, leaving Maui to his thoughts once again. He still had his hook in hand, held tight all morning, more an extension of his arm than any tool or weapon. He looked at it now, eyes tracing over the intricate carvings embedded in the alabaster bone. He remembered receiving this from the gods, so very long ago now, and the charge that came with it: Protect them. Serve them. Love them.

He knew he’d made mistakes. Demigod or not, he’d been born human, and humans were prone to mistakes. But  _ he’d  _ learned, had lots of time to have done so. Old Man Tunui might be old, and wise, but he was nowhere on Maui’s level, and Maui couldn’t  _ believe  _ that he was being told to step back and let the humans handle things for themselves. It went against his nature. It went against his very job description.

So Maui sat. And sulked. And waited.

Tamatoa had fallen into a light doze after a while. Maui guessed the crab hadn’t slept much the night before, especially if he had spent it all in the forest. Tamatoa’s head was dipping low as he nodded off, and his eyeballs were particularly limp on the ends of their stalks, lids closed, resting atop what passed for cheeks. Maui was sorely tempted to reach over and poke one, purely out of annoyed spite for the laughter from earlier.

Maui was just reaching a finger up, ready to follow through on his thoughts, when he reflexively glanced around to check for any witnesses. As his eyes scanned past the ocean, however, he straightened up with a start. The black-sailed ships were almost there!

...Just how long had he been staring at Tamatoa’s eyeballs?!

He did make a jab at Tamatoa, then, but with a hard shove to the shoulder. “Wake up, Crab Cake!” he hissed. “They’re here!”

Tamatoa grumbled and gave a half-hearted swat at the intruding appendage, but blearily blinked open his eyes. He looked first at Maui in confusion, and Maui jerked his head out towards the ocean, directing the crab’s attention there. The sails were almost upon their beach, and he heard Tamatoa’s small gasp as he spotted them, too. Maui grinned.

He made to stand up, too caught up in his excitement, but a tug at the leaves of his skirt pulled him back down. He glanced at Tamatoa, confused and a shade angry, only to see the crab shaking his head.

“Tunui said to stay out of it, Maui,” he admonished.

Maui glared. “You’re not in charge of me, and Tunui isn’t, either!”

Tamatoa rolled his eyes. “Yeesh, calm down, man.” He tugged at the skirt again, and Maui sat all the way back, even unhappy as he was. “Look, we can see what’s gonna happen just fine from up here.” He gestured out with his other claw. “And if anything goes sideways, we can get down there quick as you can put your hair up. But for now, let the villagers do things their way, okay?”

Maui did not like this plan. He did not like it one single bit. He was older than Tunui and Tamatoa  _ combined _ and they were still ganging up on him! 

Still, he remained seated, and watched as the ships came ashore. A line of villagers appeared from the other side of the large meeting fale, the young men who trained as warriors, the Chief included. Other people milled around, both audience for the  _ haka _ that would be performed and, likely, ready to trade and gossip and otherwise greet these newcomers. Maui snorted, unimpressed.

People began to disembark from the strange boats. Maui squinted, leaning forward, trying to make out any unusual details, anything that would make them so intimidating to the traders who had so recently fled. But he couldn’t see anything out of place. Their clothing wasn’t that different, their weapons and tools looked similar. They were just… people.

“Anything look weird to you, Tamatoa?” he asked, without looking over at his friend.

“Afraid not, man,” the crab replied. He sounded bored. “Just more humans.”

Maui harrumphed, gesticulating wildly out towards the beach in a sudden burst of energy. “Look at them! Coming slowly onto shore all friendly-like. Are these even the same guys the traders were so afraid of?”

Down on the shore, the villagers had begun their  _ haka, _ both a greeting and a show of strength. Absently, Maui noted their technique wasn’t bad, but it had changed a lot from what he’d taught their ancestors, long ago. The newcomers formed their own line but waited patiently for the warriors to finish. From way back here, Maui could hear a few of the louder shouts, but for the most part only a dull murmur of voices reached him.

The village warriors finished. Maui’s eyes drifted from them to the line of newcomers. They brought their fisted hands up to their shoulders, then straight out in front of them, fists touching, and then in a dramatic movement one hand moved up, overhead, and the other down to hip level. Three words that Maui didn’t recognize accompanied each movement.

There was a pause, and Maui wondered what kind of lackluster acknowledgement  _ haka _ that could have been.

Then the line charged.

Maui was so surprised that he could only blink at first. Then the dull glint of bone and stone weapons reached his eye, and he jumped to his feet right as the people below clashed. Tamatoa, too, was suddenly standing and at his side, pincers clacking in agitation. The village warriors were fighting back against the attack, which was good, but this was  _ not _ how people greeted their hosts on a new island! And Maui would know, he’d been to plenty of them.

He bent down and grabbed up his hook, which had slipped loose from bored, lax fingers earlier. Straightening, Maui then took off in a sprint down the hill and towards the beach, Tamatoa right behind him.

~~~

Tamatoa could usually beat Maui in a footrace, but the demigod was determined. He barrelled ahead, rushing to the line of combat. Not that Tamatoa could blame him - he too felt protective of this island and its inhabitants, they were  _ his, _ and he wasn’t going to let any black-sailed hubris-filled wannabe-warriors do  _ anything _ to hurt them! No matter what the villagers had to say about it, themselves.

They were almost there, so close, when a loud, pained cry rang out and the sharp scent of blood spilled through the air. Somebody had been injured.

Another shout rang out immediately after, a call or signal, and just like that the fighting stopped. The newcomers broke away and ran back to the line of the ocean then quickly made their way back aboard their boats. One of them held a bloodied spear high above their head. Only then did Tamatoa notice that there were still some people aboard those canoes, and with no fanfare they were quickly maneuvered around and set off down the beach, parallel to the shore.

Tamatoa pulled to a stop, dumbfounded. That had all ended as quickly as it had begun! Maui kept rushing ahead and Tamatoa soon lost sight of him, but the fearful confusion of the villagers swarming back up the beach echoed his own thoughts. Several of them glanced at him for guidance, but he honestly didn’t have the least idea what to do. Others seemed to be looking for each other, having been separated from friends and family in the sudden rush, and the susurrus of frightened whispers and calls grew around him. 

Their fear ignited deep protective urges.  _ His  _ people were frightened and confused and looking to him and he didn’t even know what to do! Then anger began to burn through him, low and muted.  How dare they! How dare these guys come to his island, scare his people, and outright attack and injure somebody!

Frown wide across his face, he went looking for Maui.

~~~

A man had been stabbed.

Maui was beside himself with anger. Reeling.  _ Frothing! _ He  _ knew _ these guys were gonna be bad news! He had wanted to be there, on the front lines, ready to repel the enemy at a moment’s notice! But  _ nooo, _ the villagers wanted to do things for  _ themselves! _ Well, look where that had gotten them!

The man, his name was Rua, was being carried off into the village to be patched up by the healers, and that was probably the only good thing about this whole thing - he’d caught a spear in the leg, and was bleeding, but it wasn’t a fatal wound.  _ Lucky,  _ thought Maui. Very, very  _ lucky. _

He was looking for Tunui now. That old man had a lot to answer for, as far as Maui was concerned. He had let Rua get injured, and who knows how many other people may have been hurt - or worse,  _ killed _ \- if those strangers hadn’t suddenly fled. Maui searched all around for the old man, and when no sign of him turned up, he started asking. But the villagers hadn’t seen him all morning, let alone here, just now.

Tunui hadn’t even been there, Maui concluded. He hadn’t even been present to witness what had just happened.

Furious, he stormed back into the village, making his way to the meeting fale, where he had just been told to sit this out, and where Tunui had apparently done the same. Sure enough, the old man was there, sitting placidly in the same place he had last been. His eyes opened as Maui entered, staring at him with a flat expression.

Patience gone, Maui raised a finger and pointedly accusingly at the old man. “They attacked!” His voice was nearly a shout. “Just like I thought they would, and now Rua is hurt! If I’d been there-”

“There is no telling what would have happened had you been there.” Tunui spoke only loud enough to cut through Maui’s diatribe, and there was only the smallest hint of anger in his voice. He slashed the air sharply with his hand, and Maui closed his mouth to glare insead. “Maui, you say this island is your home, but you are away longer and longer. We have had to be self-sufficient and make our way without you. You have forfeited your right to have any say within this village.” Incensed, Maui drew breath to say more, but Tunui kept going.  _ “Furthermore,  _ you, your name and your deeds, are known far and wide. You have made more than a name for yourself; you have a  _ reputation.  _ And given what we know of these strangers, we  _ can’t  _ know how they would react to your presence here. But I suspect they are more likely to take your presence as a challenge than a deterrent.”

“So what?!” Maui finally exploded, throwing his hands wide. Hook still in hand, he managed to knock it against a support post, making the whole building shake. He ignored that. “You expect me to just sit this one out? Stand back and do nothing while these guys attack and hurt you all?”

“That is exactly what I expect you to do. You and Tamatoa both.” The elder’s voice was calm, even icy. He eyes bored into Maui’s own. “Demigod or not, you will not presume to know what’s best for this village, Maui.”

“So you’re just cutting me out of the loop, huh? What happens if these guys are really bad? What happens if they’re more than you can handle?”

Tunui stared at him a moment longer before his posture and expression seemed to soften, just slightly. He was quiet for a minute before he finally spoke again.

“Fair enough, then. You will be invited to sit in on war council meetings, and you will be given the opportunity to make your voice heard. If the council agrees it is time for you to step in, you may do so then; until that time, you will remain uninvolved with these strangers.”

It did not sit well with Maui to be given orders. Even the gods had had a difficult time in getting him to do what they wanted; this frail old mortal wasn’t going to have any better luck. Thoughts and anger both still roiling, he dipped his head in a nod - more acknowledgement than acquiescence - and turned to stomp out of the fale.

~~~

Tamatoa had finally tracked Maui down right as the demigod stepped into the meeting fale, and heard the angry words he threw out to Old Man Tunui. He noticed a pair of young men sneak out the back and run off along the beach in the direction of the departing strangers, but paid them no mind as the calm, if sharp tones of Tunui apparently cut Maui off. Nonplussed, Tamatoa settled himself down by the door to wait. The tapa mats were rolled up, leaving him able to look inside. Tunui, no doubt, saw him as well, but he did not pause in his words. So Tamatoa freely listened as his friend was put into his place.

Still, something about the elder’s words were sticking in his mind. Tunui was being so calm and rational when his village had just been attacked… wasn’t that weird? Tamatoa looked up at the sky, thinking. Yeah, that was probably weird. Though it was a good thing he was being cool and rational about it, because Maui certainly wasn’t.

Tunui said he knew stuff about these guys… he must’ve been talking to the traders a lot, then. And that mention of predicting how they’d react to news of him and Maui… implied he was going to keep an eye on the attackers? But how, he was so  _ old. _

...But those villagers who’d run off weren’t. Ooohhhh, you sneaky old man, already keeping tabs on everything. Tamatoa smirked, and kept listening.

He knew Maui. He knew Maui wasn’t going to like what Tunui was telling him to do.  _ He  _ didn’t like it, either. But where Maui would just go sit and fume about it, Tamatoa was already thinking up a plan.

So when Maui came stomping out, face dark and dour, Tamatoa stood smoothly to walk beside him, not saying anything until they were out of the old man’s earshot.

“I have an idea,” he whispered, with a grin and a wink.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D What bad decision are they possibly going to make now? Find out next time!!!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! And thank you to my beta/encourager for this chapter, JadeWolf!
> 
> And... I know I'm really slow at responding to comments, but that doesn't mean I don't love and cherish each and every one you give me! You could even say "Grazie, lo odio" and I'd still roll in glee. :D


	8. 6: Threats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally action, wee!!!

“You said you had a plan, Tamatoa,” Maui grumbled under his breath, straining his muscles.

“I said I had an _idea,”_ Tamatoa snapped back, already beginning to have regrets about this endeavor. He shifted his legs and sank a little deeper. “It certainly didn’t involve quicksand.”

“Stop moving your legs, Fish Breath! You’re just making this harder.”

“ _I’m_ the one who’s stuck, thank you very much!” Tamatoa retorted, crossing his pincers in front of him. “I’m the one suffering, here!”

Maui rolled his eyes before he shifted his grip on Tamatoa’s leg and began pulling again. Tamatoa rolled his own eyes to match. Really! Maui was complaining about using that demigodly strength he was always boasting about, and Tamatoa was the one stuck in this mud! He had even tried to help, using his pincers to try to push the water-bound sand behind him as he balanced on the one digit that managed to find firm ground beneath him, but that just resulted in him sloshing sideways and getting covered up to his shell in muck. That was when Maui demanded a leg to hold onto, and began slowly tugging him out.

“You need to start laying off the eels, Crab Cake,” Maui finally continued, snide.

“Not on your life, man,” Tamatoa returned, affronted. “That’d be like asking you to stop using coconut milk on your hair.”

“Leave my hair out of it! Besides, it’s not like that makes me weigh more.”

“Whether it does or not, it’s not like _I’d_ have any problem fishing _you_ out of here.”

“What’s this? Are you implying you’re stronger than me?” Maui threw a glare at him, but Tamatoa detected the edge of humor in the demigod’s expression.

He smirked, canting his head so that his eyes and antennae fell at a cocky angle. “Absolutely.”

Maui snorted in good humor, then gave Tamatoa’s leg another hard pull. Tamatoa winced at the force of it.

“Careful, man, don’t tear it off or anything,” he muttered, to which Maui rolled his eyes - he sure was doing that a lot lately, the copycat - and with one final heave, managed to haul Tamatoa out of the quicksand.

“There. Saved. Happy?” He rubbed his hands together, brushing off the sand from his palms.

Tamatoa gingerly regained his feet, shaking the sand off of his legs. “Very,” he deadpanned in response. “Now, where were we?”

“You’re sniffing out Tunui’s spies,” Maui supplied. Tamatoa looked back at him with exasperation broadcasting loudly across his face.

“Thanks. I meant that rhetorically.”

Maui grinned his smarmiest disarming grin and shrugged, palms held up.

“Whatever, man,” Tamatoa dismissed, then looked ahead again and swung his antennae up to find the scent again. A few steps forward before he picked it up, then they were on their way again.

Tracking the spies had been fairly easy, but Tamatoa strongly suspected that they were, somehow, onto him. The path he followed was circuitous and meandering, and even though it also doubled back several times, enough to fool Maui or anybody tracking by sight, Tamatoa could distinguish the direction of fresher scents from older ones. Even so, the afternoon was slanting into evening, the sunlight casting a golden glow all around them.

And they were _still_ in the thick of the forest.

For his part, Tamatoa was enjoying the trek. It was cool here in the shade, and quiet, and the anticipation of catching up to their attackers had his blood up. Maui, however, trailed behind him and could not refrain from complaining.

“Think you might pick up the pace a bit?”

“You couldn’t keep up with me if you tried.”

“You could give me a lift!”

“You have to give me something first.”

“Pff! Like what? What could I possibly give you that you couldn’t get for yourself?”

“The point is to make _you_ do it for me, obviously.”

Their banter continued, lighthearted despite the occasional insult, until, at long last, they came to a break in the trees. And there, down on the beach, was a group of people digging pits in the sand for fires, and beyond them, a fleet of black-sailed canoes.

Tamatoa grinned. _Bingo._

Maui stepped up beside him, and Tamatoa could smell the electric tang of anticipation building on his skin.

“Ready, big guy?” the demigod whispered.

Tamatoa glanced at him. “Absolutely _not!”_

Apparently, that wasn’t what Maui expected to hear. He looked at Tamatoa in confused surprise. “What?”

Tamatoa squinted at him. “It’s too bright, for one. They’ll see us coming, and line up, and that totally ruins the surprise. And besides, have you no flair for the dramatic?”

It wasn’t that, Tamatoa knew. Maui just didn’t have any patience. He never had, really. And, true to form, Maui groaned.

“Do we _have_ to wait?”

Tamatoa looked back at Maui, coolly. “Really? Back to pouting like a child?”

“Am not!”

Tamatoa didn’t dignify that with a response, instead looking back out to the curve of beach before him. The spies were nowhere in sight, so it was quite likely they were actually watching he and Maui in addition to the strangers, but oh well. Nothing to be done about that now.

This part of the island curved out into the ocean. He’d been here before, but it wasn’t particularly close to the village on the edge of the sheltered bay. Perhaps that’s why it was an ideal staging ground for these stooges? Far away and easy to land their boats.

The sun was slipping ever lower behind them, but it would still be at least an hour until full dark. Then, and only then, could he and Maui show these buffoons what they were _really_ up against.

~~~

They hadn’t been sitting and watching all that long when Maui suddenly stood and stepped back.

“Well, we took so long to get here…” a pointed look was cast Tamatoa’s way. “Nature calls. Back soon.”

Tamatoa scoffed as Maui trudged back into the jungle, and made sure his attention was decidedly not on the demigod. Nope, he was going to keep keeping an eye on the weirdos down there on the beach, and listen for Tunui’s spies just in case, and absolutely not pay any attention to anything-

“And just what are you up to now?” a voice asked from behind him.

Startled, Tamatoa whipped his head around to look around, antennae up and alert. Almost immediately, he found her: that inconvenient pest of a bat, who wouldn’t show up when he was looking for her but _now_ was once again hanging upside from a tree.

“Shoo!” he hissed, and waved her away with a pincer. “I don’t have time for you right now.”

“But you’re just sitting there,” she answered, reasonably. “And nobody is close enough to interrupt.”

Shows you, he almost said. Maui’s not far off! But then it occurred to him… well, Maui might actually be some ways off. Tamatoa had deliberately not kept track of him.

Wary, he eyed the little monster. “What do you want, then?” Maybe he could get her to open up about her motivations, where she came from, anything to use against her later. He itched to stand, turn and face her and maybe even try again to shake her down from that tree, but he refrained. He didn’t want her to know how off-putting he found her, especially when he couldn't even _smell_ her.

“Oh, just some friendly conversation!” she replied, grinning broadly and showing off her many wickedly-sharp teeth.

“The image of hospitality, you are,” Tamatoa muttered. “Wanna tell me anything about these friends of yours?” He nodded his head back toward the beach, flicking his antennae in emphasis.

She shrugged her upside-down shrug. “No friends of mine,” she spoke, flippantly. “They just happened to get here the same time I did.”

Tamatoa narrowed his eyes. “Now why do I not believe you, you little creep?”

“What reason do I have to lie to you?” she answered.

Well, Tamatoa could actually think of at least a dozen reasons, but the bat spoke again before he could give voice to any of them.

“You never did answer my question, you know.”

“And I don’t intend to!” Tamatoa snapped, ire rising. “Maybe ‘shoo’ is too subtle for you. _Scram,_ get lost, leave my island and don’t come back!”

She smiled, slow and sickeningly sweet. “Oh, Tamatoa, you know that’s not going to happen.”

The use of his name caught him off-guard. No enemy had ever done that before. It was always ‘You!’ mixed with some array of insults and curses. No, his _name_ was only ever used by Maui and humans. It was something special, and he would not see it spoiled by being spoken from the lips of lying monsters.

The thought made him growl. He finally stood, and it was finally dark enough that in his agitation the flicker of his bioluminescent lights were just starting to show.

“I’m warning you…” he rumbled, voice low and threatening.

“Oh, are you? Like you warned that human last night?”

It took him a moment before it registered in his mind just what she was talking about: his little show for the trader, outside the meeting fale when he’d come upon the human all alone. Had the bat been watching him? _Following_ him?

Tamatoa scoffed. “That wasn’t a warning, that was putting him in his place. I wouldn’t have actually hurt him. _You,_ however, are fair game.”

Unexpectedly, she laughed, her thin lips split into a wide smile and sharp teeth laid bare. “Oh, stop pretending!” Her laughter died to giggles, and she daintily covered her mouth with the bend of her folded wing. “You’re _soft,_ Tamatoa. There’s no way you could hurt a proper monster if you can’t even bring yourself to threaten a human.”

“I don’t _need_ to threaten any hu-”

“You don’t?” she interrupted, all false coyness aside. “When you get run out of villages, you never feel the need to defend yourself? To fight back? To insist on your right to be there? When the humans only see the monster you _are,_ do you not deny them?”

Tamatoa growled. “Humans are the soft ones, and need to be protected! I’m a _hero,_ even if I am-” he stumbled over his own words, then, if only for a second, “-a monster.” The dissonance rang loudly through his mind; sure, he was a monster crab, but he didn’t act like one. He was an adventurer, and protector, and even an aumakua! He wasn’t a _monst-_

But the memory of him shaking down the trader last night popped into his head. Of how Tamatoa had insisted on himself, just like what this creep was suggesting. That… that hadn’t been a very heroic thing to do, had it?

The bat was watching him, a shrewd look on her face, and Tamatoa had the sinking feeling that he had somehow given her more ammunition against him.

He couldn’t think of anything to say, however, in the mere moment before her wicked grin reappeared. However, Tamatoa was saved from anymore of her words when the the thump of Maui’s approaching footsteps reached them both, diverting her attention as she glanced behind herself.

“Ah, it seems that our time is up.” She looked back to him, and winked, “And that I’ll have to heed your warning, at least for now.” She adjusted her wings, opening them wide. “I do hope you boys put on a good show tonight.” And with that, she released her grip on the branch and flapped once more into the darkened woods.

Tamatoa was still staring after her when Maui approached, eyebrow raised in question. “The bat, again,” Tamatoa told him, voice clipped in his annoyance.

Maui looked up and around, even though he couldn’t have hoped to find her at that point. “Again? What did she want? She only show up because I was gone?”

“I think she’s just trying to mess with me, man,” Tamatoa’s voice was dour.

“Mess with you how?” the demigod asked, looked back to the crab with his other eyebrow raised to join the first.

“She said my name. Called me soft. And… a bunch of other stuff.” _Stuff I don’t want to think about._

“I think you’re giving too much credit to a monster,” Maui said, voice doubtful.

Irked, Tamatoa narrowed his eyes at Maui, but caught himself before saying anything. Right - _she’s_ the monster here, not him. And yeah, maybe he _was_ giving her too much credit. She just had a bunch of wild guesses and a voyeuristic streak, but nothing she said actually meant anything!

“...Yeah,” he finally agreed. “You’re right, I am. I guess she just caught me off guard.”

“Oh, like that megalodon that one time?”

Maui was teasing him, he _knew_ that, but that overgrown fish had left its mark. Literally.

“Hey, now,” Tamatoa snapped. “It’s not like _you_ did any better! Remember how those teeth trimmed your tresses?” And just like that, things were fine again. The bat forgotten, Tamatoa and Maui joked together there at the edge of the forest until night fell, keeping a loose eye on the strangers as fires were lit and groups separated off and some chanting began to sound from the front.

And when darkness finally blanketed the island, they began.

~~~

Tolo’a sat on his mat before a low-burning fire. It was too early to sleep but too dark to accomplish much. He had eaten, and prayed, and practiced a few maneuvers to settle his body’s energy for the night. His weapons were ready. There was nothing left to do before tomorrow.

He sat alone, his friends away from their fire to socialize with the other warriors. He watched as the last of the light faded from the sky over the ocean, the varied blues muting into a velvety black. He sighed and laid down, willing his mind and body to tire further so that he could sleep. The waiting was the hardest part.

From some distance beyond the light of his fire, he heard something. It sounded like… giggling? He would not expect such behavior from his fellow warriors the night before battle.

“Who is there?” he called, sitting up. He peered into the darkness. “This is a solemn night, not one for skulking and giggling like children.”

The voices stopped, so suddenly it was eerie. Then came the sound of something large hitting the sand, and next of footsteps coming closer. Tolo’a stood, feeling perturbed. His fire did not cast much light, but it was enough that he could just make out the dim shape of a large man moving toward him. He felt unease, then, for there was no warrior in his party quite so large as that.

“Hello, friend!” a voice called, and the figure raised a hand in greeting right as his features became visible in the light. There was an amiable smile on his face, though his eyes glinted with mischief. “We weren’t expecting anybody to be all alone, all the way out here.” Wait, ‘we?’ “So, tell you what? You sit here nice and quietly, and my friend here won’t eat you on our way back.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, and the smile melted into a smirk.

Tolo’a blinked, then looked past the large man. Suddenly, a glowing, animated mask of a face appeared in vivid hues, well above the man’s own head, large eyes and huge teeth bared in a vicious smile. It appeared to be floating there, the fire failing to show any body attached. _Demons_ , he thought, and his breath got stuck in his throat. He choked, stumbling backwards, falling and trying to rise again. He had to warn the camp, mount a defense-

“Ah, ah, ah!” the large man called out, shaking his finger in a chastising gesture. “Sit _here_ , yeah? _Quietly._ I promise nobody will get hurt if you do that.”

“ _I_ make no such promise,” the glowing face spoke, and it was that, more than anything else, that scared Tolo’a so much he fell to his knees and stayed there. He missed the look the man threw over his shoulder at the glowing face, staring at it himself, unblinking.

“O, demons of the dark,” he found himself saying. He tried to bow his head but couldn’t look away. “Please tell me what offerings my people and I may give you, that you may leave us in peace.”

The expression on the glowing face changed abruptly to one of intrigue. “Well-”

“ _No_ ,” the large man spoke, firmly. “We are not demons, and nobody’s getting hurt, so there’s nothing you can do but sit and watch the awesome show, ok?”

The glowing face looked less than impressed, but said nothing. Slowly, as it sank in, Tolo’a nodded. He sat carefully, placed his hands in his lap, and kept his mouth firmly shut.

The large man grinned at him, then lifted a finger to his lips as he stepped back out of the firelight. The glowing face simply disappeared, dissolved into the darkness. There were a few footsteps, then silence once again. A minute later, the giggling resumed, closer to the heart of the camp. Worried, Tolo’a wrung his hands and hoped that obeying the demons was the best thing to do for his people. He looked towards the camp center, and waited, watching as instructed.

It was only a few minutes later that a total hush fell over the encampment. He hadn’t even registered the quiet murmur of the warriors in the background until those sounds were suddenly gone. Three heartbeats later, an enormous body glowed into being, accompanied by a loud cracking noise that seemed to echo, folding back onto itself until it sounded much more like a monstrous roar.

That was when, way down on the beach, all hell broke loose.

~~~

Maui had to take a few deep breaths to quiet his laughter as he and Tamatoa approached the largest gathering of warriors. His friend had already gone silent, by far the better of the two of them at sneaking despite his far greater bulk. Being effectively invisible at night certainly helped.

His anger from earlier in the day had melted cleanly away. Yes, he was still mad that Rua had been injured, but Maui was here now, _doing_ something about it, and that action soothed his shortened temper.

Tamatoa’s company, jokes and snideness and everything, helped to lighten his mood as well.

When they were a mere dozen paces from the closest warrior, Maui patted Tamatoa on the neck, signalling a stop, then hopped down from his shell.  He edged up into the group, doing his best to blend in, laughing with the group as one finished telling a joke. He stood there, waiting, watching, and listening, not drawing any attention to himself. Finally, there - he saw a man nudge the one next to him, nodding in his direction. Both pairs of eyes focussed on him. The rest kept chatting and joking, but the nudges and looks continued, and soon the whole group was quiet, looking at him with varying degrees of suspicion and perplexity.

“Oh!” he started, dramatically, as though he only just realized their stares. “Hey, sorry guys! Don’t mind me! I’m just listening!”

“Who are you?” one asked. “You did not come here with us. Are you a spy for the village here?” He pointed his spear at Maui.

“Who, me?” He held up his hands; coincidentally raising his fishhook, urging it to light up. “Nah, I’m no spy, don’t worry!” He grinned, though it was half smirk. “However, this island _is_ under my protection, so my friend and I are here to encourage your war party to _leave.”_

He watched the eyes of everyone widen, some staring at his hook while others looked around, searching for another unfamiliar face.

A great _crack_ rent the air behind him, accompanied by the sounds of wood breaking and falling on the sand and a bright blue glow illuminating everything around him, overpowering even the light of the flames. Maui watched as all eyes jerked back to look beyond him, surprise and fear blatantly painted across the warriors’ faces.

“Oh. Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have broken a boat. Oops?”

Maui laughed as all hell broke loose.

~~~

Maui didn’t generally enjoy fighting mortals. They weren’t strong, or sturdy, or anything much that posed a challenge.

Fighting a whole _army_ of mortals, though, now that was fun. Especially as he had to take care to not hurt them too badly.

He hadn’t been sure, when he and Tamatoa had hatched their plan, whether this group would run or fight. The two of them ultimately decided that it didn’t matter, as either way these intruders would get the point and get off the island. The only difference was whether they got a beating first, or not.

They opted for the beating. Maui was happy to deliver.

He dodged twice in quick succession as two warriors jabbed with their spears, then ducked as a third swung a shark-tooth-armored fist at his head. He spun out a kick to knock the first two back, and swept his hook under the legs of the third, toppling him to the ground. Righting himself, Maui took a deep breath and blew directly into the sand, tossing it up into the air and into the eyes of his opponents. They shouted their dismay and discomfort and fell back from their attack. The moment of peace, then, allowed Maui the time he needed to look for and check on Tamatoa.

Maui was encircled by the dust of the sand he had raised, and that limited his vision. However, he could _hear_ the crab laughing not far away, along with the crunch of wood and the occasional sad bang of a drum being crushed. Tamatoa had happily set forth to breaking all of the weapons he could find, kicking sand to douse any fires he came across and generally brushing away any human warriors that came too close. Not many had tried.

The air finally cleared enough that Maui caught sight of Tamatoa, happily mangling another canoe. His natural glow cast eerie shadows around him, the wreckage of his performance snagging the light like rocks would tear a sail. Broken weapons lay strewn about his feet, as though he had caught each as it was carried, charged in, then dropped them as though they were nothing. Baskets of fruit had been overturned and the contents spilled, smashed; the air around them was slowly sweetening as juices soaked into the sand. Fires were scattered, and many snuffed out completely; Tamatoa himself was the best source of light in this tableau, and everyone who refused to get near him were lost to the darkness.

Nearly every boat had been damaged. Maui noted, with pride, that only a select few had been permanently disabled. Having spent so long sailing with him, Tamatoa knew how far a given vessel could be damaged and still float, and he was apparently putting that knowledge to good use. He wanted them gone as much as Maui, after all, but they couldn’t leave if they couldn’t set sail.

Yes, Tamatoa was certainly having the time of his life causing so much wanton destruction, and Maui was amused at his friend’s enthusiasm. Behind Tamatoa, however, he saw a group of warriors poised to throw spears at the giant crab. The weapons themselves Maui wasn’t concerned about, though; the spears had all been set alight with fire, from some flame that yet burned. Tamatoa’s shell was tough, but what if a flaming spear hit him in the eye, or the neck?

Maui’s heart jumped into his throat; the warriors threw their spears before he even had a chance to warn his friend. As the bright points of light shot upwards into the air, he called anyway, hoping that maybe Tamatoa could turn in time-

The flaming spears arced through the air, falling right towards his friend’s back-

Tamatoa must have heard Maui’s call and turned to look at him, an inquisitive look in his eyes-

As their eyes met, the flaming spears struck in a ringing clatter against Tamatoa’s shell...

And immediately bounced right off, proving themselves harmless.

“What is it, Maui?” Tamatoa asked.

Maui gaped. Tamatoa hadn’t even _noticed_ the spears striking his back.

“Uh-”

Tamatoa rolled his eyes. “Look, I know, they need their canoes to leave. But this is just a little one!” He held up the remains of the canoe he had been tearing apart, putting them on display. “Hardly longer than me! They’ll never miss it!” He pulled it apart some more, chuckling darkly as the wood shattered to splinters between his claws. When looked back at Maui again, he face was pulled into an over-exaggerated pout. “Besides, those puny spears are like toothpicks. No fun at all.”

Maui was quiet for just a moment, then laughed. He grinned at his friend. “Don’t worry about it, buddy! Enjoy yourself!”

Tamatoa grinned back, then turned to continue his path of destruction.

The warriors who had thrown the spears, Maui noticed, were bickering among themselves now, still completely outside of Tamatoa’s attention. _Maui_ had a few things to tell them, though, and began to stomp his way over, face falling into a scowl. Sure, Tamatoa was tougher than a barnacle, and Maui didn’t need to worry about him anymore; but throwing burning weapons wasn’t very _nice_ and Maui decided he needed to tell them all about that.

They saw him coming, however, and all argument quickly evaporated. Rather than face an angry demigod, the group turned and fled into the night.

Maui huffed, a little disappointed that he couldn’t tell them off in a fairly physical manner. Then again, he thought, as he slowly turned around and took in all the quieting chaos around him, it looked like the whole camp had gotten the point; the beach was now nearly deserted, only a few stragglers left, and they were trying to get one of the last boats still grounded pushed back out to sea.

 _Good riddance!_ he thought.

~~~

Tewiri’s heart pounded within his chest. Behind him, one of the demons cackled, and it sounded like it was _right there,_ right behind him, spurring him to run even faster. But ahead of him were supplies caught in the scattered fires, and he _knew_ that they wouldn’t get very far, either on the ocean or on this island, if everything went up in flames.  
He heard a whistling in the air and looked up, then jerked himself sideways to avoid the impact of a falling boat. A falling _half_ of a boat. That was also on fire.

Well, it wasn’t like that was useful anymore. He ran past.

The one good thing, the one ray of hope, was that a lot of the baskets had gotten soaked with seawater when a particularly large wave had crashed over the decks of several canoes. Those weren’t burning; their contents had been emptied to dry on leaves set over the sand. But running the risk of mold was far preferable to everything catching fire. With a high degree of desperation, he slid to a stop next to one of these sopping piles, and began shoving things back haphazardly into one of the baskets.

Somebody was screaming behind him. _Don’t look don’t look just fill the basket and_ go-

-the screaming cut off abruptly. Tewiri didn’t want to think about why.

There was smoke everywhere. Sand had been kicked and sprayed in all directions, and its dust mingled with the smoke in the air. He couldn’t see; he couldn’t _breathe._ He was choking on his own screams, his own fear, shadows dancing everywhere-

….Why were there shadows? Why was there light right behind him?

Slowly, ever-so-slowly, Tewiri turned his head. He found a giant, armored, monstrous leg stamped into the ground just a few handspans away from him, the light of nearby fires reflecting off of its hard surface.

Even more slowly, he looked up, and met the demon’s glowing eyes.

A line of white teeth split the darkness, curving into a malevolent grin that rooted Tewiri to the spot. It moved closer, then, leaning down and into his personal space. Tewiri began shaking, clutching the basket to his chest as though it could offer any protection.

“Boo,” the demon whispered.

The wind of its breath knocked him back and out of his stupor, and in a mad tangle of legs and sand and the basket, Tewiri got himself to his feet and began running again. His chest heaving, his mind blanked in fear, he broke straight for the water; to hell with saving any supplies! He’d go fishing!

The demon’s laughter followed him all the way to the waves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!!! And thank you for being patient, waiting for this chapter. I'm going to keep working on this, and I hope to even get back on track with every-other-week updates; but offline issues have been rearing their heads and, sadly, this has been getting shoved down the priority ladder.
> 
> Your comments, enjoyment, and enthusiasm all mean so much to me!
> 
> A very special thanks to [JadeWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadewolf) for the many beta reads and helping me through sticky spots! I'm forever grateful!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Bitter Harvest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14462889) by [jadewolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadewolf/pseuds/jadewolf)




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